Latest Album Reviews

Jerry Leger Songs From the Apartment Self Release

This is the ninth release from an artist who declares that it is a lo-fi collection of songs recorded solo at home, most of which had been written, quickly demoed and forgotten about. The performances are relaxed, intimate and refreshingly bare. As Leger says on the song, Hoodoo Brown, “I’m hungry as a hunter, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve had the love.”

Whether it’s the gentle piano melody on You & Louise or Katie Come Back, maybe it’s the simple strum on acoustic guitar of Traveller’s Prayer or Leaving Now - you are given the sense of being allowed an exclusive peek through the keyhole of this particular apartment that sees Leger sprawled on his sofa, quietly creating and winking back at you.

Based in Toronto, Leger has always displayed a very strong and creative work ethic, his impressive output since his 2005 debut also including side projects with The Del Fi's and The Bop Fi's. He also features his regular band, The Situation, on a number of his albums.

His 18-track release in 2017, NONSENSE AND HEARTACHE, brought him increased media exposure into Europe and the invite to play some festivals and shows. Leger released a career retrospective in 2019, TOO BROKE TO DIE, which covered his 2005 beginnings right up to 2019 with a very generous twenty one tracks featured.   

So, this is a surprise digital-only album, released on Bandcamp during his days of social isolation, a considered and heartfelt project that will, no doubt, delight his many admirers as well as winning him many more.

Review by Paul McGee 

Victor Wainwright and the Train Memphis Loud Ruf

Wainwright was born in Savannah Georgia and has played in a number of bands, including Southern Hospitality and Victor Wainwright & the Wild Roots. This is the second album with his current band and the larger-than-life vocal delivery channel a bluesy masterclass built upon an array of impressive keyboard histrionics that, in places, recall Dr John. 

Billy Dean (drums), Terrence Grayson (bass, vocals), Mark Earley (sax’s, clarinet), Doug Woolverton (trumpet and flugelhorn), Pat Harrington (guitar) and producer Dave Gross (guitar and percussion) contribute with great musicianship that helps to round out the sound in impressive style.

Creek Don’t Rise has a breakneck speed and is reminiscent of Bob Seeger, while the blues workout of Recovery calls to mind BB King with some great guitar work from guest, Monster Mike Welch. Recovery brings it all home with a terrific guitar solo from Greg Gumpel and another soulful vocal from Wainwright on top of a slow blues arrangement. The twelve tracks are a heady mix of Memphis soul with larger-than-life backing vocals, an exciting horn section, all delivering a rollercoaster listening experience.

It’s a boogie express that never stops with tracks like Walk the Walk and Memphis Loud building the momentum, until Sing arrives with a vaudeville jazz feel. America does slow everything down for a soulful vocal performance from Wainwright but it is only a temporary respite as the track builds to another crashing crescendo.

Many guest musicians turn in cameo roles on various tracks – There are seven different backing vocalists, Monster Mike Welch on guitar (2 tracks), Greg Gumpel (guitar on 3 tracks), Chris Stephenson (Hammond B3) and Mikey Junior (harmonica). It’s an impressive troupe and the sheer number of vocalists and players result in the huge production sound that rolls right over you – well, just like a runaway train. 

Review by Paul McGee

Mike Mattison Afterglow Landslide

An interesting mix of styles on this second album from a musician who grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and who can play a wide range of instruments, from the clarinet and tenor saxophone, to the french horn and trombone. He also plays guitar and bass, but is known mainly for his great vocals as a key member of different bands, including blues rock trio Scrapomatic, Derek Trucks Band and blues rock/soul group, the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Derek Trucks himself played with the Allman Brothers for a period as his uncle Butch Trucks was a drummer in the band. 

So, Mattison has an extensive grounding in different musical genres and the ten tracks featured have traces of many influences in the arrangements and melodies. His voice is both sweet and strong, especially on the soulful All You Can Is Mean It.  The blues is never far away of course and the slow burn of I Was Wrong is very infectious. Also, the easy groove of I Really Miss You recalls the best of soul sounds with organ swells and a great vocal delivery.

Dave York plays guitars, with Frahner Joseph on bass and Tyler Greenwell on drums and percussion. Mattison co-produced the album with Greenwell and there are appearances from Paul Olsen (guitar on four tracks), Rachel Eckroth (keyboards on three tracks) and Kofi Burbridge, who plays organ on two tracks. 

Charlie Idaho and On Pontchartrain have a nice Americana feel to the arrangements with the title track veering towards a Country swing and World’s Coming Down sounding like an upgrade on an old R & B standard.  Variety is the spice of life and there is plenty here to hold the interest

Review by Paul McGee

Jamie Williams and the Roots Collective Do What You Love Ashwill 

This English 5-piece band are based in Essex and play a stylish blend of Americana/Roots music across the twelve tracks that are included here. This is their sixth release and production duties are handled by David Milligan, who also contributes on lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards, plus all brass, string and choir arrangements. 

The other band members are Nick Garner on harmonicas and mouth organs with James Bacon taking drums and percussion and joined in the engine room by Jake Milligan on bass. Jamie Williams wrote all the songs and delivers on vocals and guitar, plus there are guest appearances from BJ Cole on pedal steel on the Country sound of Losing Streak, Robbie McIntosh slide guitar on the funky I’m a Stone and Naomi Poole on cello.  The album title says it all and the sense that these musicians are indeed doing what they love shines through.

There is a slow bluesy feel to If I Met My Hero and Held You In My Glow and the more rock-oriented sound of Red Hot and Raunchy has a great brass arrangement. Life On the Road is another Country tinged song and the final track, Dreams Can Come True, sees the band really kicking into another gear with great keyboard swells and harmonica lines mixing with the blues groove and brass arrangement.

Throughout, these songs are anchored superbly by Jake Milligan and James Bacon, giving the other players the room and space to express themselves. A very enjoyable listen and if you get the opportunity to hear this band in a live setting, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.  

Review by Paul McGee

Ryan Luce California Gold Self Release

A debut EP from singer songwriter Luce who recorded these four songs at Grand St. Recording in New York City with engineer, Jake Lummus. His band of fellow musicians are DM Salsberg on keyboards and vocals, Matt Sapp on bass, Omer Ashano on violin, Wavery Langston on drums and Ron Raymond on pedal steel.

Luce contributes on guitar and vocals and the four songs clock in at a tidy 15 minutes. Faded Memory is a song about the past and leaving for a new life while the title track features two young dreamers searching for their rainbow in the sunny hills of California.

Secondhand Rose is a road song and dreaming of home, with all the treasures that lie waiting in the love of family. The final track, Loner Tendencies, is a break up song and the strong playing of Ashano and Raymond, on violin and pedal steel respectively, is balanced by the fine vocals and keyboards of Salsberg. Simple tunes, played well and a bright opening statement from an artist who will hopefully go on to greater heights.

Review by Paul McGee

Johanna Warren Chaotic Good Wax Nine

Ten tracks that echo with a 60’s folk/psychedelia influence, with imaginative imagery in the lyrics, inventive sound structures in the melodies and rhythms that inhabit the arrangements. The otherness of Rose Potion has an elegant poise that is quickly replaced by the driving beats of Part Of It and a sense of confession and release in the compelling groove. There are haunting keyboard sounds layered in the mix and a gripping sense of mystery in the overall sound. 

Only The Truth slows everything down and reflects on the belief that one has to experience something in order to believe it – the lyric “The wound in me picked out the knife in you” intrigues and the song suggests that hurt is not the case when it comes to recognising the loving spark within each of us – it’s a wonderful swirling arrangement that is reminiscent of Tori Amos in its structure. A special song by any definition of artistic expression.

Bed Of Nails is another sonic sequence of lush melody that tracks a sense of hidden emotion over a relationship. Twisted has an acoustic guitar intro that builds with a passioned vocal into something resembling a catharsis. 

Warren has said that her phoenix moment appeared on this project - that her earlier records were just building a funeral pyre. That sense of release is strongly evident in her conviction to listen to her creative muse; clearly evident on every track here. Warren self-produced the project over a period of years, in between touring and recording other albums in her body of work that has created four previous works. There is no information on the players who grace this project, except a brief mention in the press release for former band mates Chris St. Hilaire and Jim Bertini (from Sticklips) and as Warren is a multi-instrumentalist, I can only assume that she supplied all of the other ‘found sounds’ and instrumentation.

Hole In The Wall is a gentle respite from all the self-analysis and angst as she moves beyond a relationship that seems to reflect a Mother/Daughter bond. The abusive theme of Faking Amnesia is unsettling with its apparent focus on submissive indoctrination while the nursery rhyme delivery of Every Death has an eerie quality in the delivery. 

Literate, obscure and ethereal are all equally relevant impressions across this work of great ambition and powerful attraction. Music should challenge and break out of stereotypes. Folk-Adelia for a new age? This release is worthy of your time and attention.

Review by Paul McGee

The Danberrys Shine Self Release

Ben DeBerry and Dorothy Daniel grew up in the Nashville area and were childhood sweethearts before parting during their college years, as life pulled them in different directions. Happily, they reunited some years later and eventually married. In 2011 they released a debut 4-track EP and followed that with their self-titled full album in 2013.

Their original folk, bluegrass, old-time country sound began to develop by the 2016 album, GIVE AND RECIEVE, leading to this new release, which certainly highlights a very rounded, mature set of songs. The distinct vocals of Daniel take centre stage and her delivery on the twelve tracks is faultless. DeBerry provides fine harmonies, and their dynamic is clearly evident on the final song, Rain, which deals with dwelling on the positive and keeping the ever-present dark thoughts down. 

Indeed, this is a theme that runs through the album with a message of positivity and not letting the hard times sway you from the righteous path. There is a message of hope and spirituality in these songs and the gospel tinged arrangement on The Mountain (Darrell Scott on guest vocal), looks to a higher power and believing in a bright tomorrow. The soulful shuffle of the arrangement hints at a Bonnie Raitt influence, with a Little Feat groove. 

The project was co-produced by Brian Brinkerhoff and Marco Giovino (Band of Joy, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller), who also plays drums, percussion and vibes. He is joined by Neal Pawley (Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes) on guitars, trombone, tuba, background vocals and Duke Levine (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Robbie Fulks, Lucy Kaplansky) who contributes on guitars and mandolin.  This A-team is anchored by the superb Marty Ballou on upright and electric bass while the keyboard sound is handled by Tom West, with John Deaderick on pump organ

Adding the talents of Ben DeBerry on guitars and vocals, plus Dorothy Daniel on lead vocals and tambourine results in a heady mix of diverse music and coloured by backing vocals from Amanda Broadway, Vanessa McGowan and Sam Margolis. There is also mention of ‘additional recordings’ by Doug Lancio (Patty Griffin, John Hiatt) and Mikie Martel, two more musicians who add even more to the overall feel and production. With so many heavy hitters turning up, you would expect the bar to be raised quite high and the Danberrys certainly prove to be equal to the challenge.

The title track is a swampy blues number with a message to look for the light and banish the darkness. The guitar sound is vibrant, as it is on the similar blues stomp of The Road. Maddie’s Ghost is reminiscent of a Dire Straits sound and a look back at the past in its ability to stay with us. Holding the Bag and Undertow are songs that look at deception and lies, feelings of being let down, but the life affirming mantra on The River Is Wide to keep on going and never give up, shines through more strongly. This positive stance is mirrored on Love Conquers War which asks us to choose love over hate and Francis is a song that deals with helping each other and not feeling lost and alone.  

A very accomplished and confident offering with plenty to appeal to lovers of that rich Americana/Roots sound.  

Review by Paul McGee

Maya Rae Can You See Me? Black Hen

Cross Nelly Furtado with Norah Jones and you get some indication of the sweetly soulful voice that colours the eleven songs here. Maya Rae is still in her teens but that is never evident on this assured performance. When you put her natural vocal gifts in a room of seasoned musicians in Nashville, at the Henhouse Studio, only good things can arise. Add in the magic dust of Steve Dawson, producer, song arranger in-chief, adding his talents on various guitars across all the tracks, well, you are bound to be impressed. 

Factor in the impressive vocal talents of Birds of Chicago duo, Allison Russell and JT Nero, plus Kai Welch (keyboards/trumpet), Jamie Dick (drums), John Estes (bass) and a number of invited guests on certain tracks - Charlie McCoy (vibes on 2 songs), Sam Howard (bass, guitar, vocals across 4 songs), Kristin Weber (violin on 3 songs) and Larissa Maestro (cello on 2 songs) - an impressive team reporting for creative input.

As one of Canada’s most sought-after producers, session musicians and guitarists, Steve Dawson spends much of his time helping other songwriters and musicians bring their creative visions to life. Here, he accepted a chance to work with this talented fellow Canadian who co-wrote all eleven tracks with her brother. The songs are all from a personal perspective and for a young girl growing into adulthood Maya Rae writes with an impressive maturity.

The album was recorded in less than a week and the entire project was captured live in the studio - off the floor, as popular saying goes! Rae’s tone and range are very skilled and slow, sensitive tracks like Picture Frame and Storm Leaf, with atmospheric trumpet, leave no doubt about her ability to cross genres in her performance. Other stand out tracks include Lonely Ones, a sweetly soulful arrangement, and Freedom Fighter a smouldering blues. Overall, this is a very strong statement from an emerging artist that we will be hearing more from in the years ahead.  

Review by Paul McGee

Annie Gallup Bookish Self Release

An artist who trawls in the hidden places and spaces where the nymph of song-writing hides, searching for buried treasure and opening her mind to the possibilities of what may emerge from the journey. 

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from where she graduated with an art degree, Gallup currently lives in Santa Barbara, California, with her husband and fellow artist/song-writer Peter Gallway. Over the years together, their output has been prodigious with their Hat Check Girl project spawning seven albums, while each has pursued solo releases; Gallway clocking up an impressive total of fifteen, to the eleven that Gallup has completed to date. This is another to add to the list and it’s almost as if they are playing catch up with each other. 

This album is a collection of personal memories, story songs and musings on everything from the Sputnik launch in 1957 (Sputnik) to World War Two tales (The Roads Were Deserted), interspersed with the inner emotions and retrospection of childhood.  Here is a wordsmith who takes time to hone her creations into the exact shape that she envisages, never a word wasted as she shapes the song structures to evoke a sense of time past and interspersed with faded dreams.

Gallup namechecks Angelo Ippolito on the song East 10th Street, an American painter best known for his central role in inaugurating the downtown art scene of post war New York. The sense of artistic freedom and creative endeavour is captured in the words and performance, “And so the artists gathered at the Cedar Tavern, Debating aesthetics over beers, Drew the city’s art epicentre downtown, Where it remained for the next 50 years.” 

Her words have a rhythm and flow like a well-crafted poem. Often, the feeling is one of lonely reminiscence and wistful longing for an elusive feeling, now passed. On another song, California, where certainty and direction have been lost, she contemplates “Back here, it’s so quiet, silence is a thing you could break, With a hammer or a whimper.” Other songs like The Trouble With the Truth and Annie Proulx are insights into relationships where the sense of disappointment and disconnection are palpable

There are personal recollections of her parents and their strictness and stoic demeanour; in the song, Fellow Traveller, Gallup states “Mother was a mystery so I lived like a detective, Looking for clues, for the motive, the weapon.” Equally, when reminiscing about her father, she muses “Still, ever since I was a kid, I had to believe he was capable of loving me, Because he loves poetry.” Heart-breaking insights into a rigid and controlled youth where children were to be seen and not heard. Pseudonym tackles the issue of hidden truths and family constraints to keep from cheap public display. 

With just voice and guitar, these songs are very much like sitting in a small parlour, early evening, watching the day turning into twilight as the intimacy of the invite to share in these fascinating vignettes is revealed. Always compelling and unconventional, Annie Gallup is unique in her creative vision and delivers yet another fine example of superbly framed songcraft. 

Review by Paul McGee

Album - New Reviews

James Elkington Ever-Roving Eye Paradise of Bachelors

This is the second solo release from an artist who has been greatly admired over the years for his technical expertise as a studio musician and a gun for hire to any number of famous names who know about his reputation.

Elkington was born in England but his career in music only started to gain momentum with a move to Chicago. There, he began to study guitar and to play in local bands, before gaining a foothold as a session player around the city. He has played with a very impressive list of people, from Richard Thompson to Tortoise, Jeff Tweedy to Michael Chapman, Steve Gunn to Eleventh Dream Day. He co-produced an album last year for Joan Shelley (Like The River Loves The Sea) to great critical acclaim and this added further momentum to his body of work, that had taken a new turn in 2017, when Elkington released his debut solo album.

This new album is a heady mix of Folk and Jazz rhythms, seamlessly merged together into a really impressive whole. Starting out with Nowhere Time and the sweet sound of a new-age acoustic guitar, similar to something that a John Abercrombie might fashion, before the calm is interrupted by an addictive beat and rhythmic drumming, complimented by superb guitar breaks and repeating motifs. The Jazz tempo and instinctive riffing is really terrific and the layered vocals build into a real tour de force as a statement for the rest of this solo release. 

Second track, Sleeping Me Awake, has a more pastoral sound that is reminiscent of the old Folk days of the 1960’s and is immediately followed by a deep groove on Leopards Lay Down, a dreamlike melody with superb double bass and woodwinds that conjures up early John Martyn.

The studio musicians include Nick Macri on bass, Spencer Tweedy on drums, Paul Von Mertens on woodwinds, Macie Stewart on violin, Lia Kohl on cello and Tamara Lindeman on vocals. The dextrous playing throughout is a pure joy and the almost psychedelic sound on some of the tracks really paints a sweeping vista of rich summer days spent dreaming in the meadows of the countryside. 

Instrumental track, Rendusham’s Way, displays all you need to know about this superb player when it comes to guitar technique; it is a stand-out track among pretty stiff competition. Late Jim’s Lament, a nod and a wink at his timekeeping, builds to a compelling climax of pulsing double-base and frantic guitar, slicing through the beat, while the final track, Much Master, blends pedal steel and woodwind instruments together in an unlikely combination that works superbly well.

The entire project is delivered with a confidence and panache that is quite inspiring and I have no doubt that this wonderful album will feature in many highlights of the year lists as 2020 continues to unfold. 

Review by Paul McGee

John Dennis Mortal Flames Rainfeather 

The imagined dawn of creation is beautifully captured in the lyrics and the gentle acoustic playing on the opening track, First Light - a statement that frames the circle of birth, death and rebirth – captured in the lines “And with each page, Countless flames reach the day of their fading, Their reprise in closed infant eyes, Parents patiently waiting.” 

An impressive start to what is an album of real depth and displaying a talent that impresses at every turn. Eleven songs, over 55 minutes and produced by Bryan Clark at three separate studios in Nashville. Augmented by a coterie of musicians that bring great nuance and touch to these songs, all of which form a cycle that represents a personal journey through experiences that have given both darkness and light in the search for greater meaning. 

The second track, Board Game Money, dispels all sense of the sweet opening sounds and channels a very satisfying James McMurtry groove in talking of just getting by and dreaming of having enough to, one day, enjoy the material attractions that life can dangle. There is a slow and soulful band rhythm to Fools Golden Boy and a look at the fragile pains of growing up and dealing with the pain of the past, pointing at parental lack of care with the lines; “Mama says, “Where You Been?”, But Mama, where were you?”

The imagery and legend of Guinevere is spread across two tracks with an initial wish for imagined, perfect love being replaced by the sense of seeing real love for the first time, by looking beyond the innocence of dreams; “But I’m grateful to now understand, That nobody’s perfect, And everyone’s guilty, Of doing the best that they can.” Amen brother!

Orpheus brings up the difficulty and pain in letting go of a sad memory and the death of a girlfriend some years ago. There is an understandable passion in the vocal and band dynamic, which at its height echoes the frustration in dreams turned sour and the reality of carrying a flame for the past. 

However, there is a turn towards the light at the start of the second song cycle, introduced by the acoustic calm of Another Door and the hope of new beginnings. The pedal steel of multi-instrumentalist and producer Bryan Clark is very integral to the feel of the track, together with some superb backing vocals from one of the three female voices featured across these songs. The quality of harmony singing is top drawer and without individual credits, I was very impressed by Kynadi Echols, Tyra Thompson, Emily Perino, whenever they were given parts in the song arrangements. All shine brightly throughout, together with the male contributions of Bren Joy and Jason Erie on selected tracks. 

Stand-out song for me is the superb Good Good Love that looks at the joy of attraction from both sides of a relationship that’s about to take flight. It hints at speaking of true feelings and not letting unrequited love be the dominant force that holds back on experiencing the real thing. The duet vocal with Alannah Zitka is just a perfect example of two voices complimenting each other in a sweet balance of hidden fears and true emotion. 

The Innocents is a slow band groove around the scars of childhood and a hope to stay strong by being together – “Can we learn how to trust, When we’ve never been shown it?” The title track deals with the trade-off between free will and fate, the mystery of this life and the impermanence of living – perhaps the secret lies in just enjoying every given day? Final track, Oh Beloved, brings everything back to the source and speaks of letting go in order to embrace a new chance to grow from the pain of losing someone dear. 

This third album from the head and heart of John Dennis speaks to me of an old soul in a young body and is something that will stand the test of time. A work that will endure and one which speaks loudly of a talent that deserves greater exposure and recognition. A very impressive release.     

Review by Paul McGee

Brooks Williams Work My Claim Self Release

A singer-songwriter that has released more than 20 albums across a 30-year career span deserves to be given the highest of accolades when acknowledging contemporary Folk/Roots artists. Williams was born in Statesboro, Georgia and learned his craft in the bars and coffee houses of Boston, alongside many other wannabees on the Folk circuit in the late 70’s. His debut album appeared in 1990 and over the next ten years he followed it with a regular output of recordings that proved his prolific talents as a songwriter of some depth and a very accomplished acoustic guitar player.

This release marks his 30th anniversary in a business that is famous for its high attrition rate and the roads are scattered with the bones of many performers who went before and after, in search of a modicum of fame and perhaps, a living.

The twelve songs featured here are taken from eight of his releases, LUCKY STAR (2018), winning out with three tracks included. There is also a cover of a Duke Ellington song, I Got It Bad (and that ain’t good), that seems gratuitous, given the huge amount of material he has to choose from his self-penned back catalogue. 

The early period of his career, 1990 – 1998 is represented by only four songs and although Williams states that he has chosen his favourite songs, one has to wonder if a poll taken from his fan-base might have resulted in a more even spread of this talented troubadour across his back catalogue. 

Williams displays a healthy interest in different genres as he comfortably skips between Folk, Blues and Roots based songs, with an array of talented guests joining him to reinterpret these songs and present fresh arrangements.  The fiddle playing of both Aaron Catlow and John McCusker is very prevalent on the opening four songs, Inland Sailor, King Of California, Frank Delandry and Seven Sisters. The blues then kick in for a few songs, with You Don’t Know My Mind and Here Comes the Blues highlighting the playing of Jim Henry (mandolin) and Phil Richardson (piano). There is a light swing to Whatever It Takes and Georgia and the gentle vocals of Christine Collister feature. 

The final two tracks, Jump That Train and My Turn Now, are acoustic blues with just Brooks on acoustic guitar and vocals, joined again by Collister, in what is a fine example of his bottleneck slide and finger picking techniques.

Listening to his body of work, there are many excellent albums, including live, compilation and tribute projects, which have all added to what stands as a very successful career. 

Review by Paul McGee

Jaime Wyatt Neon Cross New West

Not many artists can have been dogged with misfortune more than Jaime Wyatt. Some of the distractions were self afflicted, others not so. A career that promised so much from an early age was side tracked when two record deals fell through while she was still in her teens. Some unfortunate life choices followed, together with substance abuse issues, leaving her in the doldrums and steamrolling downhill, another artist with potential unrealised.

In the true spirit of many of country music’s most celebrated artists who struggled with addiction and incarceration issues, she has used these experiences to inspire her writing. Her 2017 recording FELONY BLUES was peppered with memories stimulated by fellow inmates during her incarceration at Wasco State Prison - or Stone Hotel as she branded the institution on the album. The recording also provided a glimpse of the unquestionable talent that Wyatt possesses. If that album was an indicator of Wyatt finding her feet, NEON CROSS simply knocks it out of the park.

Shooter Jennings is hot property as a producer currently, particularly for female artists. Both Brandi Carlisle and Tanya Tucker have benefitted from his input which earned them both Grammy Awards in recent years. A long-time friend of Wyatt’s, he witnessed her at her lowest and understood the issues she was coming to terms with, including coming out as a gay woman. That empathy, together with his expertise at the controls, earned him the production duties. He places Wyatt’s vocals perfectly in the mix, often using first and second takes where her voice cracked slightly, capturing the mood to perfection. He also gathered a powerful team of players alongside him. Neal Casal, to whom the album is dedicated, features on guitar, harmonica and Wurlitzer, in one of his last studio performances before his tragic passing.  Shooter’s regular bass player Ted Russell Kamp also performs, alongside John Schreffler Jr. on pedal steel and Jamie Douglas on drums. The icing on the cake is a cameo by Jessi Colter, who also lends a hand, sharing vocals on the autobiographical I’m Just A Woman.

However, the real winner on the album is Wyatt’s song writing and her ability to vocalise her tales with phrasing, intensity and passion. That emotion hits you straight on from the first track Sweet Mess. It mourns an impending relationship collapse and opens with a piano intro by Wyatt.  Every word is meticulously enunciated as she accepts the inevitable. “I’ll guess that just like all the rest, I’ll be forgotten.”

“Oh, poor me, Oh, poor me, You don’t love me, why don’t you nail me to a neon cross?” she probes on the title track. It’s delivered with a driving drum lead rhythm, echoed vocals and instantly catchy melody.  Wyatt’s vocals border on tearful on Hurt So Bad. It positively aches as she looks over her shoulder at vices that pull at her and the strains of leaving them behind. “Them swingin’ doors they cut right through me and I gave my money to the man” she cries alongside some aching pedal steel. Jennings adds vocals on the chorus, placed in the mix as if he’s observing from afar. This is country heartache from the real world rather than from a shared song writing session. 

The album could justifiably have been titled Livin’, one of the songs that is featured. It’s one of eleven tracks on the album and each navigates its way across a variety of emotions. Staring in the mirror and examining her inner self, Wyatt is opening up wounds not yet fully healed with painful honesty. She’s also banishing demons and dealing with issues that have possibly been festering and needed closure. In this vein, By Your Side reflects on the passing of her father and a close friend from a drug overdose, and her inability to deal with either at the time.

Despite the enormous potential that Wyatt projected as a young artist, it’s improbable that she could have recorded material as powerful as this without the suffering and regret that she’s since endured. However, much of that disorder has been followed by a reawakening and rebirth, both of which shine through on the album.

My profile picture says, “thirty-three and still ain’t grown” she reminds herself on the rocking Make Something Outta’ Me.  Age should not be an impediment; Lucinda Williams was a dozen years older when she released CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD and people eventually stood up and took notice. Hopefully, Wyatt’s maturity and composure are maintained and she continues to record material of this standard in the future.

 Personally, I may hear a better album in 2020, but I seriously doubt it.

Review by Declan Culliton

Josh O’Keefe Bloomin’ Josh O’Keefe Self Release

With a double-edged title to the album that could refer to the blossoming or the splendour of the artist, Josh O’Keefe is a singer songwriter who is ignoring popular trends to concentrate on his own personal musical pilgrimage. U.K. born but presently residing in Nashville, his debut album boldly ignores the ongoing Americana explosion by focusing solely on a traditional folk sound. His musical apprenticeship is impressive and includes sharing stages with household names such as Kris Kristofferson, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Alison Krauss and Rufus Wainwright. An impressive curriculum vitae indeed, for an artist that had yet to record a full-length album. The learning process also included appearances at Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, Black Deer Festival and Glastonbury, together with endless hours in Nashville’s Lower Broadway bars with a tip jar at his feet.

His sound is unapologetically folk, a throwback to the mid 1960’s. That pre-hippy period found artists such as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and Pete Seeger calling the shots. They relied solely on their vocals, battered acoustic guitars, harmonicas and their ability to create meaningful songs with simple language. O’Keefe has used a similar template with this recording.

He has not been in a rush to record the album either, waiting until he had the appropriate ammunition and carefully selecting where he would record and under whose guidance. The ten tracks on offer were recorded live at the legendary Columbia Studio A in Nashville by the late Charlie Brocco. A Grammy winner for his work with Kacy Musgraves, having previously recorded with George Harrison, Patty Griffin, Barenaked Ladies and many more, Brocco sadly passed away two months after working on the album.  The final mastering was undertaken by Greg Cali (Bon Iver, The National, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen) at Sterling Sound studios in New Jersey.

The material is forged from both modern and traditional folk roots with subjects such as mortality (The Lonely Highway), lost love (Lucille, Lucille), racism (We’re All The Same) and current politics (Thoughts and Prayers) all highlighted.Sticking to his artistic guns O’Keefe has resisted fleshing out the songs, instead relying on his emotive vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica. His vocal is two steps ahead of being semi spoken at times, approaching Sam Baker’s vocal style on Lucille, Lucille and early Dylan on When Mother Nature Calls. The tongue in cheek Talkin’ Neighbour From Hell, delivered with full English accent, recalls fellow countryman and folkie Billy Bragg.

It’s an impressive and courageous debut album from an artist that appears to have a career game plan and is executing it with military precision. Josh O’Keefe is a name to keep an eye out for in the coming years.

Review by Declan Culliton

Clara Rose Travelling Soul Self Release

Whether it’s fronting her own band, belting out the blues as a member of Ladies in The Blues at Glastonbury, curating an event to celebrate International Women’s Day, or toning her Sean Nós vocals, Clara Rose seldom sits still. The high spirited and multi-talented artist - she can also boast a Masters in Music Therapy - has taken a slight detour from her core sound with this five track EP. Her last album THE OFFERING, released in 2018, showcased her extraordinary vocals on a collection of songs that covered her core blues style, with some jazz and folk on the side.

On this occasion she travels down a somewhat more traditional and folky route on the five tracks, four of which are original compositions. The remaining inclusion is an arrangement of the traditional cowboy ballad Red River Valley. The material came to life following time spent on Achill Island in Co. Mayo and the project is very much a family affair. She collaborated with her mother Elizabeth Monahan - no stranger to sharing stages with Clara Rose - on the recording. Her father Alan Monahan also makes an appearance, adding banjo to the title track. The opening track The Pattern, lands dead centre between folk and trad, with Clara Rose taking the lead vocal before merging into a duet with Elizabeth mid-song. They both harmonise on the timeless title track which follows. Cathy Mc Evoy’s haunting violin connects divinely with the vocals on Your Pirate Queen, which is set to theme of the Irish trad song Óró Sé Do Bheatha Abhaile. The up-tempo Man-O-War offers vocals, acoustic guitar and violin delivered like a full force gale. The previously referenced Red River Valley closes the album in fine style, mother and daughter voices and strummed guitar more than enough to do the song justice.

Whereas her previous albums particularly focused on her muscular vocals, the emphasis here is directed towards melody and harmony, on songs that embrace both the best elements of folk and traditional music. Clara Rose may be more accustomed to delivering high octane blues than melancholy folk but TRAVELLING SOUL is evidence that she’s every bit as comfortable with either challenge.

Review by Declan Culliton

Devil Doll Lover & A Fighter Self Release

The title is a pretty accurate depiction of Devil Doll, or Colleen Duffy as she is know to those close to her. The “Fighter” aspect is described in the blog on her website where she writes about being faced what would seem like unsurmountable health issues, but has managed to come out with a strong and positive attitude in the wake of that. The “Lover” is evident by her love and commitment to making and recording this new album. It is varied and vibrant blend of torch song, rockabilly, blues, countrypolitan and harder-edged classic rock. All genres that have their roots in earlier times but are here given a sense of engagement that is very much of and for a contemporary audience. 

Contributors include sometime The Who bassist Jon Button, Gabe Witcher from the Punch Brothers and Charlie Overbey, who duets on Ballad Of The Rearview Mirror. The title track is a guitar-riffing, uptempo driving song (in both senses) that takes few prisoners. Duffy has noted that another of the songs here, namely  Steeltown Heart, was written as a tribute to heroes Hank Williams Snr and Patsy Cline. It features prominent steel guitar with a vocal performance that is top notch and highlights again her range and versatility. Her writing is also a reflection of the twin aspects of the title and serves notice of a storytelling songwriter of some dexterity. There is heartbreak, seduction and some spiritual searching - the latter as heard in the understated Mother Mary. There are two covers alongside the eleven originals  - a cover of Conway Twitty’s It’s Only Make Believe and a striking big sounding version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man. Although it is not noted in the press release I am assuming that Duffy was also heavily involved in the production of the album. 

The direction that Duffy has chosen, while not unique in itself, is a summation of its many parts, maybe described best as a high-end rock ’n’ roll cabaret that touches on different emotions and energies to make the experience a rewarding listen on several different levels. With a playing time of an hour it is a release that will see listeners finding immediate favourites but further listening reveals other songs to savour in the long term in the company of this devilish doll.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Darlin’ Brando Also, Too … Self Release

A mini-album of 8 tracks from Darlin’ Brando which is a project of Brandon Goldstein who works with a number of Nashville-based artists as a drummer. Goldstein is no newcomer to the game and has performed in various guises and roles through the years. On this new release he performs with his wife Edith Freni on backing vocals and on a duet on the opening track When You Don’t Fight. There is a good sense of melody and structure in this self-composed and produced material. These Old Demons looks back at an earlier self and how messed up he might have been then and how that relates to current relationships. Adam Kurtz adds some soothing pedal steel alongside Storm Rhode IV’s twang inspired guitar riffs. These players are part of the Streise Bar Band and they feature on 6 tracks. The remaining 2 are played with multi-instrumentalist Ryan Payton. Weeds and Flowers, one of those two songs, has a different sound more of a harmony duo than on the other tracks. The second Payton backed song The Old Man And The Kid is an acoustic based story song about a journey to Las Vegas that turned out to be eventful and not quite the money making venture that was planned for. Crumbling Marriages is a honky tonk inspired tale of two people who are looking at the break-ups of their friend’s marriages. They find ways to make theirs work in the surrounding mayhem. Last Call is a barroom shout out for the end of a rowdy night and Year One is again helped by Freni’s additional vocal.

All of which goes to show that Goldstein can adapt his vocal style to suit particular songs. His role in the production and mixing mean that what you hear on this outing is pretty much what he aimed for at that time. As a musician working with other projects who is also trying to forge a solo career it is undoubtably not an easy ride but the fact that he reached his target when crowdfunding this release which can only bode well for the future. Personally I was drawn more towards the band selections but the balance overall works and shows that Goldstein has the ability and vision to take this further on a full album release the next time out.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Charlie Sutton  Primitive Songs For Modern Times Junkerdash

“Country-fried folkabilly” is Charlie Sutton’s apt description of his eclectic mix of country-blues, folk, primitive guitar and rockabilly which he brings to us on his first solo recording. He has already put out two albums with Curtis Sutton and the Scavengers, and has been playing around his native Boise, Idaho for a few years, having previously lived in several parts of the US. 

Across the 16 tracks, we are taken on a crazy ride through the world according to Charlie, with subjects ranging from the personal to tales of jail break outs, escapades of rats and hounds, story songs, love songs and farming tales. All are delivered with an upbeat infectious enthusiasm, topped with a large dollop of humanity. Charlie writes all the songs and is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitars, banjo, harmonica, bass and percussion. 

He favours a resonator guitar sound with lots of harmonica, percussion and a curious collection of homemade sound effects. Someone New recounts the breakdown of his marriage and the effects of post-divorce arrangements on his child. In Penitentiary we hear from a child’s viewpoint the tale of his father’s imprisonment, the edgy harmonica embues the song with a mournful atmosphere, eventually turning to menace. The harmonica is used to similar effect in Radioactive Hound, convincingly evoking the howls and then the shrieks of said canine. Against the odds, you just might find yourself feeling affection for the rodent who tells his tale in The Old Wharf Rat, or empathising with Charlie when he admits that he is decidedly not a Modern Man. Elsewhere he can surprise with a switch to gentle jazz ballads, simply recorded with acoustic guitar and fiddle, as in Had A Dream and Windy. Incinerator is a standout closing song, just Charlie’s vocals and electric guitar. 

Signed to the recently formed Junkerdash Records, home of a small roster of likeminded artists, the album is co-produced by label founder and HillFolk Noir’s Travis Ward. Recorded in Charlie’s home studio, the Shred Shed, Travis also contributes some keyboards and backing vocals. His partner Alison Ward adds washboard to several tracks, while another notable contributor is Adam Straubinger whose fiddle playing is striking throughout.

Review by Eilís Boland

New Reviews - Albums

Pharis and Jason Romero Bet On Love Lula

Marc Jenkins (producer) lugged his recording equipment to the banjo workshop at the home of Pharis and Jason Romero outside the tiny town of Horsefly, British Columbia, so that they could record their fifth album in relaxed and familiar surroundings.

The result is another gem from the Juno-award winning duo. Instilled with a contentment that is contagious, the self-penned ten songs and one instrumental are imbued with a timeless quality, channeling old time, folk and early country music.

Recorded simply, with Pharis playing her vintage Gibson guitar and Jason playing either guitar or one of their highly sought-after gourd banjos, there is lots of room for their gorgeous voices to shine through. On Pharis’s Hometown Blues she explores that perpetual theme of yearning for home, even while knowing that one had to leave to appreciate it. Her exquisite lead vocal is harmonised to perfection here, and throughout the album, by Jason’s rich tones. Master mandolinist John Reischman and bassist Patrick Metzger join them on this and several other songs, but appropriately there’s nothing showy about their contributions. Jason sings lead on two songs, Roll On My Friend and the downbeat closer, World Stops Turning. On New Day, a song of yearning for love, their twin guitars wrap themselves around each other as beautifully as their voices do. In an album packed with highlights, it’s difficult to chose a favourite but the standout has to be Bet On Love, which Pharis admits is “the most personal and intimate song I’ve ever written’. It comes from a person who is at peace with herself and with her life, demonstrated at the end by a most joyous yodel. ‘If we bet on love babe, we will win.”

Review by Eilís Boland

Lucinda Williams Good Souls Better Angels Highway 20

The late career purple patch in creative form from Ms Williams continues. Both 2014’s DOWN WHERE THE SPIRIT MEETS THE BONE and THE GHOST OF HIGHWAY 20, which followed two years later, signposted an artist with a lot to say and in a hurry to say it. GOOD SOUL BETTER ANGELS continues in an equally energetic manner.

 The song writing dynamic this time around takes a slight diversion from her norm. Often scathing of the principle of co-writing (“four people getting credit for song writing on one song. Why does it take so many people to write a bad song?”)  she allowed her husband and manager Tom Overby to contribute this time around. It’s also her first career album where the material in the main is drawn from current and political topics. She’s frustrated, she’s angry and has a lot to get off her chest and she achieves this and more across the twelve tracks.  

Over 20 years after the release of her breakthrough album CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD, she returned to Ray Kennedy’s Room & Board Studios in Nashville to record the album. The album was pieced together over a number of visits with her touring band Buick 6 (David Sutton on bass, Butch Norton on drums and Stuart Mathis on guitar) whenever they had a break from the road. The production duties were shared between Kennedy and Overby and the result is a sound that resonates very much like a live album.

Williams has seldom done conventional over her career and has always been light years ahead of her peers.  Kicking off as a folkie, she diverted to what became known as alternative country and more recently has veered towards country blues. While maintaining that bluesy vibe, this latest offering is the closest to garage punk that she’s recorded, choppy and grinding guitars, thumping bass and drums all behind her familiar husky snarling vocals. The playing is fluid, confident, raw as hell and delivers a mutant musical strain fusing punk, blues and full on rock.

Bad New Blues and Man Without A Soul have their arrows pointed at obvious targets, the former offering disbelief at the uncontrolled racism and bigotry surfacing in her home country. The latter’s target hardly needs to be referenced, the stark rhythm on the track sounds like Williams fronting The Velvet Underground. Wakin’ Up is one track that is retrospective rather than current. Its inclusion may be an exorcism of sorts, dealing with a bad relationship she extracted herself from. It’s brutally honest (‘it shook me up, it was a bad scene’) with graphic lyrics telling of both physical and psychological abuse. Williams spits out the lyrics flanked by screeching guitars. Things calm down somewhat on Shadows and Doubts but the subject matter is every bit as dark and aimed at fallen artist Ryan Adams. ‘Look at the carnage you’ve left behind’ she says in a matter of fact manner. Neither judgemental nor sympathetic, the lyrics unfold like an open letter. Down Past The Bottom is a full-on grungy rocker with her vocal approaching breaking point.

Williams, like her father, is primarily a writer and poet. Her back catalogue reads like a biography and even though she’s coming from a less personal perspective this time around, a couple more chapters feature here.  Riveting stuff!

Review by Declan Culliton

Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen Hold My Beer Vol.2 Lil' Buddy Toon

Sometimes you want to carefully decipher every line and phrase in a song to establish the writer’s complex inner thoughts. Other times you simply want a rollicking and less demanding listen to match your mood. HOLD MY BEER VOL.2 certainly ticks the latter box.

Enter Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen. With successful solo careers under their respective belts for two decades, the two Texans joined forces in 2015 to record HOLD MY BEER VOL.1 and followed the success of that venture with a live album titled WATCH THIS the following year. Buoyed by the success of these albums, which were initially considered a somewhat light hearted project, they’ve gathered twelve songs on this album including self writes, collaborations and a few well-chosen cover songs. John Randall and Jim Beavers co-write on a number of inclusions and Lori Mc Kenna comes on board with Ryan Beaver and Ashley Ray to contribute Rhinestoned. The song is an ode to traditional country music, name checks George Jones and like many of the tracks, features shared and harmonies by Rogers and Bowen. Ode To Ben Dorcy, a tribute to the legendary career roadie who passed away in 2017, includes an unreleased demo vocal contribution from Waylon Jennings which opens the song. Waylon’s son Shooter, taking a break from his numerous album production duties, also guests on the album. To complete the high-profile team, Asleep at The Wheel feature on one track and the production duties were handled by Lloyd Maines.

With the extent of personnel involved the end result could have been disjointed. The outcome is quite the reverse in fact, the twelve tracks gel together and offer a perfect mix of spiced up high octane Texan country. The playful title track rocks along with a driving ZZ Top riff and the equally bubbly Let Merle Be Merle is toe tapping heaven. It’s not all beer swilling fun though: Rodeo Clown, Her and Speak To Me Jukebox, in typical country song writing tradition, are all 'tears in your beer' tales of love lost and found.

Rogers and Bowen are old school career musicians and heart on the sleeve Texan country diehards, renowned for their lively live shows.Those attributes ring loud and clear on this album by a group of players who, similar to their distant cousins Western Centuries and Mike & The Moonpies, are leading lights in country dancehall music. Mission accomplished!

Review by Declan Culliton

Hurray For The Riff Raff Hurray For The Riff Raff / Look Out Mama Loose

Though only twelve months separated the release of these two albums, the contrast between them is striking. With moving parts and personnel changes over the years, HFTRR has essentially been a vehicle, both lyrically and musically, for the individualistic Alynda Segarra. Of Puerto Rican heritage, she struggled like a fish out of water in her youth and her life journey, both personally and musically, reads like an attempt to discover her real self. Her mother is former New York Deputy Mayor Ninfa Segarra and her father was a school music teacher, musician and Vietnam veteran. The couple split when Alynda was two years old, resulting in her being raised by her aunt and uncle in the Bronx. Initially drawn to hardcore punk in her teens, she fled New York at the age of seventeen, hopping freight trains, crisscrossing America, existing hobo style, before eventually arriving in New Orleans via San Francisco.

 The vibrant musical jumble of jazz, blues, hip hop, and rhythm & blues was a game changer for Segarra in New Orleans. Already engrossed in traditional American music, doo wop and punk, she joined up with likeminded bohemians to create the Dead Man Street Orchestra. Essentially a collection of street buskers, they delivered a concoction of music from Cajun folk to old time mountain music and gypsy music to Balkan melodies. With ambitions beyond surviving as an itinerant street musician, she formed HFTRR in 2007 and recorded two self-produced albums IT DON’T MEAN I DON’T LOVE YOU (2008) and YOUNG BLOOD BLUES (2010) at Living Room Studios in New Orleans. Lyrically and musically, these albums underlined her flair as both a writer and experimentalist.

The self-titled album HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF, released by Loose in 2011, cherry-picks the stronger material from those first two albums. The songs represent an artist dealing with her own emotions and identity, a feature that would continue in Segarra’s subsequent work. Given her nomadic lifestyle as a runaway from the age of seventeen, the material visits a host of emotions, life experiences and choices, many quite uncomfortable. Danielle and Take Me both recall abusive relationships experienced or imagined. Is That You and the instrumental carnival type opener Meet Me In The Morning are gloriously loose and chaotic. Banjo, fiddle, accordion and trumpet all compete wonderfully on these tracks, stimulated by the rhythmic musical fusions they were encountering in New Orleans. Is That You?, Too Much Of A Good Thing and Little Things are beautifully written and constructed songs and a pointer towards things to come from an artist learning her trade on the job. Junebug Waltz also impresses with its honky tonk overtones.

If that album sowed the seeds for what might follow, LOOK OUT MAMA was a giant step forward, finding Segarra in full bloom. With only Yosi Perlstein on drums and fiddle surviving from the previous album's line up, the latest incarnation of the band headed to The Bomb Shelter in Nashville to record. The house studio is the property of Andrija Tokic, an emerging producer at that time who also was at the control board for Alabama Shakes’ BOYS AND GIRLS. Tokic worked alongside Segarra and multi-instrumentalist Sam Doores to produce a slick and polished album, yet maintaining the thrilling musical contamination that defines their core sound. The album reaches the dizzy heights that its predecessor implied, from the belting opener Little Black Star, complete with twirling fiddle and hand claps, to the beautifully constructed closer Something’s Wrong. There’s a swagger and confidence from Segarra this time around - also very evident from the band’s live shows at that time. “Well I used to be a rambling girl, but I got tired and settled down. I’ve been out East and I’ve been out West, but the Southern States are the ones I love best” she confesses on Ramblin’ Gal, before adding that she’s yet to find a home. LOOK OUT MAMA, with its references to her mother and father - he appears as a young man on the cover - was a chapter in Segarra’s life journey both physically and more so emotionally. The pilgrimage would continue with the homage to New Orleans in SMALL TOWN HEROES (2014) and her cinematic jewel THE NAVIGATOR three years later. Whether she has shed all her demons and found peace with herself remains to be seen. Either way we can only hope there are more chapters to be written by an exceptionally creative artist, whose intermixing of the various genres of American music is both intriguing and intoxicating. Both albums are essential purchases for lovers of the Americana genre, as indeed are HFTRR’s entire back catalogue.

Review by Declan Culliton

Ben De La Cour Shadow Land FCSR

It is sometimes not always a good thing to over praise an artist and album but to these ears SHADOW LAND is something quite special. It is an intriguing combination of musical style, vocal prowess aligned with a rare mix of compositional skill that is both poetic and concise storytelling. THE HIGH COST OF LIVING STRANGE, De La Cour’s previous album was one that I returned to often after initially reviewing the album in 2018. Here he has surpassed that release with this set of new songs.

Recorded, this time out, in Winnipeg, Canada, other than in Nashville and De La Cour worked with fellow artist Scott Nolan in the production chair to bring out the best in this new set of material. They utilised the skills of some local players who turned in performances that were a testament to their talent as well as to the core material. Material that had been hewn from the hard rock of a life which had seen spells of addiction and psychosis, things that were an integral part of his existence up to this point. These are not tales of easy living and superficial observations from a privileged vantage point, rather they concern real time observations of the attitudes of those living a life of crime, of lovelorn longings, of substance abuse and mental turmoil. There is though a humanity in the writing that has both sympathy and understanding for these characters that can be rare in contemporary writing.

The range of musical settings go from the full on band energy of songs like Basin Lounge, In God We Trust … All Others Pay Cash, Harmless Indian Medicine Blues that musically refer back to earlier times when De La Cour played in metal and punk bands in CBGBs. These harder songs rock and offer counterpoint to the other more retrained but still often intense cuts like High Heels Down The Holler. The album opens with the spaghetti western screenplay of desperation detailed in God’s Only Son with an appropriate soundtrack which immediately sets the path for something special that follows.

However the songs that make immediate impact are those which are delivered with a sparse accompaniment like The Last Chance Farm about a bleak rehab location which has some revelatory couplets like “I swear to god I’d give my first born for one lousy beer, Jerry said you wouldn’t talk like that it they’d took yours away … how the hell you think I wound up in this place?” 

The title song, Shadow Land, which features the lines “God’s hiding in bushes, the bushes are on fire, we’re all waiting for him to show, but it’s coming down to the wire.” Lines that speak of expectation and a sense of how easily  that anticipation can be dashed. The final track Valley Of The Moon bears comparison with Leonard Cohen both in its delivery as well as in its erudite composing. To some this may be something that could be seen as being a homage to a master, rather I see it as the apprentice having learned the lessons well. It ends the album, for this writer, on a high point.

However, the subject matter here may be more attuned to the darker, more desperate sides of life, it is an album that by its very nature is positive and purposeful. It marks Ben De La Cour out as a gifted troubadour who is able to impart a downtrodden wisdom that is of these times - songs from deep in the heart of the shadow lands. It is undoubtably going to be among the best albums released this year.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Liv Greene Every Bright Penny Self Release

This is a very engaging debut release from a singer-songwriter who grew up in Washington DC before moving away to Boston in order to begin her musical journey. She won the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Competition for Emerging Singer-Songwriters in 2019 and chose Dimension Sound Studios in Jamaica Plain, MA as the place to record this album.

It was engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel Cardinal and produced by Isa Burke of Americana trio, Lula Wiles. Burke also contributes as a musician and plays both electric guitar and fiddle, as well as providing harmony vocals. Other studio musicians include Maddie Witler on mandolin, Grace Ward on upright bass and harmony vocals and Sean Trischka on drums.

There are eleven tracks and on repeated listen there is not a weak song included in the bunch. For a debut release it is very assured and polished in both the song-writing and musical departments. The ensemble does great justice to the songs and play together in a symbiotic fashion that elevates the melodies and arrangements.

On the new single, Wishing Well, a song about unrequited love, Greene sings “like a weight I’ll bear it, terrified to share it, and if my heart is on my sleeve- I didn’t mean to wear it”.

Stand out song, Where You Need Me is full of uncertainty, trying to relate and unsure of what role to take in a fragile relationship; “Honey I see you're thirsty, bereft, and so unwell, And so I offer up my raincloud and my wishing well.” The last track, a simple guitar strum highlighting the pure vocal on The Best Way Out, Greene sings “And I know just what you’re thinking, Swimming seems harder than sinking, When you’re terrified to even start”. Another song about the vagaries of relationships.

New York’s Arms speaks of making your own mistakes, moving on from a toxic relationship, new beginnings - “when I awoke in new york’s arms, I didn’t think of you, I opened up the window wide, I’m falling for a skyline view.”  Mature beyond her young profile, her perspective on relationships is considered and clearly rooted in hard won experience. There is a change in style from the confessional singer songwriter on the more up-tempo Independence, with mandolin and violin bringing the melody to soaring heights in the arrangement. Equally, the engaging playing on Wayside, with plucked upright bass grounding everything, is proof of an emerging talent that has a way with words: “So as you turn the knife, as you bring the page to life, remember how you sketched me in the margins.”

Songs such as Gone, Where You Need Me and The Best Way Out are very atmospheric and yet simple in their construction and delivery. Greene has a lovely vocal tone, both wistful and warm, engaging with ease across the songs and showcasing her talents as a guitarist and a talent to be celebrated as she grows towards greater things.

Review by Paul McGee

Eliza Gilkyson 20/20 Red House

This is an album for our times and It could not have been more perfectly delivered. You could say hindsight is 20/20 vision or that here are prurient songs for our sorry state in the year 2020. 

The truth is that many of these songs were written with a view to the upcoming presidential election in the USA and the prospect of the anti-christ being returned for a second term of hate-filled messages of intolerance and racial tensions, all fuelled by a righteous sense of self-aggrandization. The fact that Covid-19 virus hit the World in the manner that it did, just a few months ago, gives further weight to the urgent message carried by these ten songs.

Eliza Gilkyson has arrived at the throne of contemporary Folk royalty long before now, revered by both her peers and a plethora of fans and admirers of her keen observational eye and her activism. She walks the walk as well as just being one of the principal artists to sing about our sad and urgent plight. In the last ten years she has released four of the most vital albums that you could have in your collection and each one reflects the brave and beautiful light that she shines on both our humanity and our failings.

The assembled players are a real joy throughout, serving these ten songs with just the right amount of nurture and loving care in understated playing and gentle coaxing of sweet melodies at every turn. This A-team includes Mike Hardwick (electric and acoustic guitars, slide guitar, pedal steel, dobro, 12-String guitar), Chris Maresh (bass), Bukka Allen (wurlitzer, hammond organ, nord, piano), Warren Hood (fiddle), Kym Warner (mandolin), Betty Soo (harmony vocals) and Cisco Ryder Gilliland (drums, percussion, harmony vocals), her talented son and also the producer on this record. 

There is a cameo appearance by Jaimee Harris (vocal on “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”), plus the WEWIM Choir of Austin, a support group co-founded by Eliza and singer Charlie Faye to nurture local female musicians. They are comprised of Noelle Hampton, Bonnie Whitmore, Jana Pochop, Zanna Ouise, Bellarosa Castillo, Christine Albert, Raina Rose.

Eliza contributes on acoustic guitar, national steel guitar, electric guitar and harmonica, if proof were needed of her many gifts as a musician. She also sings with real feeling, nuance and grace. Bookended by messages of hope and community, both Promises to Keep and We Are Not Alone are calls to action and strength in a common goal, “Fill me up with inspiration’s fire, And get me out into the street.”

The cover versions of Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall and Pete Seeger’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone? are both beautifully judged in the overall context. Timely messages of retribution for our self-absorbed destruction, of both ourselves and society in general, fuelled by rampant consumerism and patriarchy.

A key moment is the song, Beach Haven, adapted by Eliza from a Woody Guthrie letter to Fred Trump (father of the current president) in 1952. It calls for a segregated building to be opened up for all and shelter given to the most vulnerable. When money and profit turn into your God, then people are no more than cannon fodder. The exasperation in her message is further captured in Sooner Or Later, a song that urges revolution and a stand against the powerful in society who bend the masses to their whims. The guitar break is filled with pent-up anger and perfectly captures the frustration of the writer. 

There is the song, Beautiful World, that celebrates the natural paradise that we should enjoy and never take for granted, captured by a lovely Country melody and violin and mandolin playing off the gentle rhythm, augmented by piano and pedal steel. One More Day equally, could be written with the current virus pandemic in mind. Looking at our race for gratification and pleasure and the price we now have to pay - “Weary world, make us pay, Make us beg for one more day.”

Overall, the abiding message is one of frustration at the lack of real change in our actions with My Heart Aches reflecting on the Mississippi marches for peace in the 1960’s, all the way up to the Michael Brown Jr. killing in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. As the Pete Seeger song says “When Will We Ever Learn.”

This is an artist at the very top of her game. A compelling and vital album and my favourite release of 2020 by a distance.

Review by Paul McGee

The Lone Bellow Half Moon Light Dualtone

Album number four in their quest for world domination, this vibrant trio are sounding more vital than ever. There are 15 songs over 47 minutes offered up in the name of communion and community in these challenging times and the listening experience is one of joyful rapture

From the opening I Can Feel You Dancing, which conjures up memories of grandparents now passed away but remembered in their love of life, this is a celebration of their influence and a terrific track, “Feet off the ground, two steppin’ on the ceiling, I can feel you dancing.” The subtle use of brass sounds adds extra colour and texture to the song and is something that producer, Aaron Dessner (The National) brings to the party on a regular basis, giving the band a new coat to try on for size and one that suits their celebratory sound so well. 

The song arrangements are more expansive and the use of subtle electronic effects augments the natural soul / gospel leaning of this trio. This is perfectly illustrated by the powerful build of dynamics on Good Times and the vocal harmonies are right on point throughout with the passion in the delivery is a powerful as ever. Quite compelling.

Wonder is the stand out track on the project, slow acoustic beginning, building into a powerful statement to hold onto the magic that this crooked world can squeeze out of you. It visits memories of youth and the joy of the newness of things before the inevitable hard lessons learned along the way. Wistful and yearning in its attempt to hold onto that feeling of hope and dreams for the future. “Should I let go of the wonder?”

Count On Me is a song about acceptance and letting go of the baggage of the past. “Let it break you, Let it help you lay down what you held onto.” There is rebirth in the act of being vulnerable, the keyboard sound swelling the chorus of “Count on me and I‘ll count on you.”

Wash It Clean is a song written by Brian Elmquist to his father who recently died and a message of reconciliation for their relationship and time spent in trying to let love in. “Loose the dust from your shoes, The weight of your crown, Whatever road you choose, Just stay above the ground.” Personal and poignant.

Enemies slows the pace and is a gentle song written by Zach Williams for his wife and the joy they have found in having a family and being devoted parents. No need to fight when the bond is strong and rooted in the ground.

Just Enough To Get By has Kanene Donehey Pipkin singing a very personal song about the fate suffered by her mother as a young girl, pregnant and bullied by family. “If silence is golden, I know a lot of wealthy women, Buying what’s been sold them, Buy anything but freedom.” There is a terrific blues coda to the song that lets all the anger and emotion pour out in the vocal.

Martingales is a song that slides easily along. It urges acceptance of who we are and about being kind to yourself: “If yesterday is too heavy, Put it down, Put it down.”

illegal Immigrant was written as a result of a news item about a mother forcibly separated from her child at a border crossing in Trump’s cruel version of America. This is a powerful indictment of a hardened bureaucracy in the callous lack of care or regard for any family as being the fundamental unit in society. Kanene’s vocal really nails this: “Nothing can keep me away, I promised I’d find you wherever you are… Here I am.”

Friends crackles with edgy guitars and urgent vocals, driving the beat along in a strong groove with thoughts of friendship and keeping the channels of communication open. Again, the arrangement is bright and the added brass sounds in the song structure echoes a message of being there for each other through both good and bad times. 

Dust Settles is a song that is written by Jason Pipkin, husband to Kanene and a key member of the band when they record and tour. It has warm organ sounds setting the scene for a plea to recognise each other across the chaos and confusion of busy lives. 

The final track, August, has a gentle arrangement, building on a message of empathy and understanding. It was written by Brian Elmquist for producer Aaron Dessner who lost a very close friend to suicide (Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit fame). 

There is an intro, interlude and finale that are all piano recordings of Zach’s grandmother who played at the funeral of her husband of 64 years. It is a poignant moment that highlights the bond of family and the need that we all have to reach out and communicate a loving message to each other.

Review by Paul McGee

Pokey LaFarge Rock Bottom Rhapsody New West

This is the eight studio release from a musician who was based in St. Louis before he decided to move to Los Angeles back in 2018. He suffered a real crisis of self doubt once the move had happened and his spiral downwards into unhealthy practices is something that fell in the middle of this new release, both in terms of the writing and the eventual recording of the songs.

With titles like Fuck Me Up, Storm A Comin’, Lost in the Crowd, Ain’t Comin’ Home and End of my Rope, you are given some insight into the dark place that produced these ten songs. There is also an intro, an intermission (to cleanse the palate) and an outro that frame the album title with a sense of something from a 1920’s movie soundtrack; strings and a lush instrumental sound, ending with the echo of an audience exiting a late night club to the sound of a lonely piano playing plaintively in the background.

This is indicative of the curve balls that LaFarge throws at the listener as he regularly changes thing up with a nod to different styles and eras. We are treated to the up-tempo rhythm of early swing jazz on tracks like Bluebeard and a smooth light jazz feel on Lucky Sometimes, with strings piano and upright bass setting the mood for a classic crooner vocal delivery.

The blues groove to Storm A Comin’ conjures up an image of Ray Charles and there is the ghost of Elvis and Gene Vincent in the arrangements of Fuck Me Up and Ain’t Comin’ Home. Similarly, the retro feel of Carry On and Just the Same have a light touch with the playing and easy melodies supporting the vocal croon of LaFarge. Lost in the Crowd has a Tejano style with a shuffle beat and warm keys. 

The Buddy Holly groove to Fuck Me Up is a rockabilly delight and the lines “a long way from normal, with not much left to go” gives an indication as to the frame of mind LaFarge was in, at the time of writing. Not that you would find any evidence of this dark passenger in the music itself and the very engaging playing and song arrangements.

Recorded at Reliable Recorders in Chicago and produced by Chris Seefried, the musicians are Joel Paterson (guitar), Scott Ligon (keyboards), Jimmy Sutton (upright/electric bass) and Alex Hall (drums). I am not aware of this artist’s back catalogue and this is the first album in over three years, but I am very impressed with the obvious craft and talent on display. One to play on repeat.

Review by Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Sideline Breaks To The Edge Mountain Home

The latest album from North Carolina’s Sideline is an impressive collection of traditional and progressive bluegrass and it really doesn’t get much better than this.

They have perfected the knack of carefully selecting songs from some of the best songwriters in the genre and then making them their own, with their hard driving style. Established over 20 years ago, the three core founding members are still there - Steve Dilling (banjo), Jason Moore (bass) and Skip Cherryholmes (guitar). On this recording, they are joined by Troy Boone (mandolin), Bailey Coe (guitar), Aaron Ramsey (mandolin) and Daniel Greeson (fiddle). However, as is common with many larger bands these days, the latter four musicians have since moved on to play with other ensembles. The touring band has replaced them from the large pool of enthusiastic younger players that are always ready and eager to learn from the more experienced road warriors.

The album kicks off with one of the highlights, Digging My Own Grave, yet another commentary on the negative effects of coal mining, co-written by the successful partnership of Jon Weisberger and Josh Shilling. Coal mining features again in Return to Windy Mountain, a tribute to the early bluegrass legend, Melvin Goins from W Virginia. Skip Cherryholmes shows his vocal ability in Crash Course in the Blues, their outstanding bluegrass adaptation of a Steve Wariner country hit from1991. There are further covers of both older standards by the likes of the Stanley Brothers, gospel songs from the Isaacs and they close with a fresh banjo-led take on Down in the Willow Gardens. This is a superb collection of story songs demonstrating how Sideline combine the traditional with the progressive and remain a force to be reckoned with. 

Review by Eilís Boland

Damien Jurado What’s New, Tomboy? Loose

In a just world, the remuneration of artists would be dictated by both the quantity and quality of their output. That being the case, Damien Jurado would be eligible for early retirement, given the calibre of the nineteen album back catalogue that he has stockpiled over the past twenty-three years.

IN THE SHAPE OF A STORM, released last year, was a solo acoustic delight, featuring only acoustic guitar behind Jurado’s controlled vocals. His latest offering is somewhat more expansive without abandoning the elegance and playfulness of its predecessor.

Jurado’s lyrics - and indeed track titles - often invite the listener to decipher his own interpretations ("I usually have other people tell me what my songs are saying”).  On this occasion seven of the song titles reference Christian names, mainly female, as if the songs were inspired by acquaintances, casual or otherwise. There’s gentleness and compassion aplenty, most evidently on both Ochoa and Sandra, two misty ballads that provoke repeated listens. The former is in memory of artist Richard Swift, who collaborated with Jurado but sadly passed away in 2018.

Arthur Aware is vintage Jurado, strained vocals alongside echoed sonics with a delightful one paced rhythm.  The End Of The Road compares with the best he’s written. An uncomplicated and melodic pop song, calming and meditative, it recalls mid-career Beatles. Birds Tricked Into The Trees, the first single from the album and an obvious choice, is brief, slick and to the point. Its sound is very much like his former label mate Peter Bruntnell.

You would be hard pressed to choose an album in Jurado’s vast body of work that impresses more than WHAT’S NEW, TOMBOY? Despite the enigmatic album title and question mark, there’s little new about the album. Simply more of the same by a resolute artist at the top of his game.

Review by Declan Culliton

Fierce Flowers Mirador Self Release

Fierce Flowers are an all-female three-piece Old Time Country and Bluegrass band from Paris France. You may be somewhat surprised to encounter this style of music in the capital of France but there has been an underground bluegrass scene in Paris since the 1970’s. Bands such as Transatlantic and Bluegrass Long Distance emerged around that time and even toured in the USA. Bill Munroe’s Bluegrass Boys' legendary banjoist Bill Keith married in France and took nationality there.

Leo Divary, Shushan Kerovpyan and Julia Zech make up the trio and represent Paris, Picardy and German backgrounds. MIRADOR consists of twelve tracks, all composed by them. Half of the songs are delivered in English and the other half in French. As you would expect violin, banjo, guitar and double bass feature alongside harmony vocals. Whereas American old-time folk music is at the core of their sound, they also introduce a Parisian flavour with light touches of jazz.

Review by Declan Culliton

Andrea & Mud Bad News Darlin’ Self Release

Described as “surf-western” (a term first used by Junior Brown); this seems to be on paper just my kind of thing. Sultry vocals, twanging guitars, mariachi-styled horns, interesting story-telling lyrics. In reality it soon proved to be, indeed, my kind of thing. All those elements occur on the first track Lines (which also includes a reference to The Shadows’ hit Apache). From then on, the duo Andrea Colburn and Kyle “Mud” Moseley, have fun on eleven other tracks where they share the vocal lead in a way that fits the classic duet mode of the sweet singing female and baritone male. There’s an element of the soundtrack selections of David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino to the overall sound.

These recordings blend guitar, bass and drums with pedal steel, fiddle, trumpet, saxophone, organ and saw. All useful allies in setting the scene, whether it’s in Birmingham, Al 8.30am after a late-night blues session. Or getting inside the head (and elsewhere) of a less-than-savoury Used Car Salesman. Perhaps the search for love that encompasses Send Your Love My Way with its elements of 60s retro revisiting harmonies and Duane Eddy guitar riffs. Something that is obviously just one element of Moseley’s guitar picking skills, which combine twang with a host of other influences, that the manage to add a fresh coat of paint to these amalgamations of classic Bakersfield country, surf, rock, blues and western themes and sounds. Throughout a riff or vocal will take you to another place and time, while never losing sight of the here and now.

The duo worked with producer Damon Moon to jointly achieve the sound they wanted for this album, their second under their own names (their debut Easy, Sleazy and Greasy came out in 2018). This combination of sounds has an edge to it that makes it somewhat unclassifiable in any single genre. The overall effect is punchy as hell as well as being a pleasing mix of old favourite sources like spaghetti western themes, alongside country and western images that rides off into the sunset with style.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Whitney Rose We Still Go To Rodeos MCG

Album three sees Rose broadening out her sound from her two Raul Malo produced albums on Straight Shooter records, while retaining a sound that is still in the main identifiably country music. It pays a respectful nod to the sounds of the past while also moving forward. This time out she works with Uncle Tupelo, Hole and Pixies (among many others) producer Paul Kolderie. This allows Rose to expand on her vocal versatility and musical direction to include touches of soul, 60’s pop alongside roots, rock and country - Americana may be an easy tag but it is one that fits here. It has been noted that there is a similarity, on occasion, to the work that Carlene Carter recorded in the UK, with then husband Nick Lowe. That comparison is valid to some degree, in that the perspective here is broader than many of her contemporaries, in the same way that Carter’s focus would have been different by recording in the UK rather than in the Nashville of that era. As is the overall allegiance to the broad palette of material that was delivered by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

Rose and Kolderie have gathered together a group of players who bring energy and enterprise to these songs. The satisfyingly solid rhythm section of Lisa Pankratz and Brad Ford compliment the guitar interplay of Gurf Morlix, Rich Brotherton and Dave Leroy Biller - the later appears to be the main guitarist as well as contributing pedal steel. All are experienced and nuanced players who add layers of guitar driven textured throughout. Mention is also merited for the keyboard contributions of Matt Hubbard. The focus here moves more towards a later musical base than the honky-tonk 50s and 60s references of her debut album. The producer, known for his work that leans to the harder rock side of things, brings some of that ebullience to songs like Better Man and In A Rut.  The end result is a sound that approximates to that of some of her like-minded associated artists - some of whom would have been affiliated with the Bloodshot label.

Her writing contribution should also be highlighted as Rose has written all 12 of the songs here. Many have the reality of a heartbreak at their core, while the opening Just Circumstance is a summation of the possibilities faced by a pregnant woman who has led a life that “never had a chance. The writing manages to convey this story flawlessly in 3 minutes and 50 seconds. By way of contrast, Home With You is a request to accompany the man in question for some private and seductive moments. Rose is pushing her boundaries on all fronts on the album   largely succeeding and an artist who will, no doubt, continue to deliver as much in the future as she has in the past.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Craig Gerdes Tough As Nails Self Release

A road warrior and hard assed outlaw may be the immediate image that is associated with Craig Gerdes. Given the title of this and his last album Smokin’ Drinkin’ & Gamblin’, that may be an easy assumption to make. The title song  pretty much displays those people that he has met, who need to be tough as nails to survive whatever is thrown their way. Gerdes also sums up his oeuvre in the song If Guitars Were Guns in which he declares “I am what I am” and that “I play country music … I play rock ’n’ roll” for the most direct of reasons “It makes me feel good.” From then on, the songs tend to underscore that attitude and lifestyle. One that is as much about the people he plays to and those he observes in the process of doing that, as much as it is about himself.

There is much of the story teller about him, even if those stories are largely wrapped in turbo-charged rocking’ country music. The ten tracks all expand on these notions in various ways, with titles like Between The Cradle And The Grave, The Hardway, Only The Road Knows and Highwayman. However, it should be noted that under that seemingly tough exterior lies a more tender side, as expressed in Pennies, Feathers And Dimes. It’s a  song taken at a slow tempo that has Robby Turner’s poignant pedal steel acting as a comfort blanket detailing the way loved ones, who may have passed on, who come to mind in many different ways, but especially in dreams. That Little Girl is also a ballad of reflection and regret, that offers another side of the title’s coin, one that takes place on a daughter’s wedding day. Only The Road Knows again is a stripped back tale of his lifestyle, which details  the good and the bad about life on rhe road. Its mood is enhanced by some subtle strings as emphasis to these thoughts and traits. This, as in many of the songs, show his humanity in being able to translates the worlds of these lost and lonely people into relevant songs.

David Beeman produced and this recordings features Gerdes’ road band to great effect, along with the guest contributions from Turner. These seasoned and road tested players bring a vibrance to the songs that they have played and lived with on the road for some time. All of that and the natural progression that Gerdes and the band have made, marks this a release that will stand as a testament to the Gerdes and his fellow musicians at these times. It also captures insights into the way of life that many of those he has encountered on his travels in a way that others will also have empathy with, whether they are as tough as nails or not.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Carus Thompson Shakespeare Avenue Valve /Mind’s Eye.

Starting out in the music business as Carus and The True Believers, Thompson has been creating music since the early 90’s when his band were active on the music scene in Perth, Western Australia. They played a combination of folk, country and reggae/roots music, which led to three studio albums.

Along the way, Thompson began to play solo gigs, leading to a live album in 2003, Acoustic at the Norfolk, which led to a change in direction and the further release of three solo albums. We last heard from him in 2017 with the release of Island, bridging quite a gap in his recording output. So, in the search for an authentic Folk experience on this project, Thompson moved his family, wife and two daughters, over to Dartmoor, where he recorded at Round the Bend studios in the company of Sean Lakeman as producer. 

Sean decided to invite his brother Seth to lend his great talents to this recording process and he brought along his wife, the superbly gifted Kathryn Roberts to add her rich vocals. Quite the band of gypsies they make as a foursome, tucked away in search for the perfect take across the ten songs that are featured. The playing is quite superb throughout, as is the pristine production with lots of bright separation and space for the musicians to play. Sean Lakeman contributes on guitars, keys, bass, piano and percussion. Brother Seth plays electric guitar, violin and viola and Thompson plays guitars, percussion and handles all lead vocals.  All songs are written by Thompson, apart from one co-write, Unless We Go Now, with Greg Arnold, a song about taking chances and not being scared of facing the winds of change. 

Thompson writes of chances not taken on Avondale Heights to Sunshine, where the character “Turned 42 last week, my ex and kids live ‘round the bend, Take ‘em down past that river every second weekend.” He writes on Shoulder about immigration problems in Australia and an inept political system that hides a history of underperforming representatives in Government. 

He also sings about Yagan, an Indigenous Australian warrior from the Noongar people who played a key part in early resistance to British colonial settlement and rule in the area surrounding what is now Perth. Another song examines the scandal of Dylan Voller, an Aboriginal-Australian who became a media focus, concerning the mistreatment of children and their lack of protection in the youth detention system; “Thought it was all you deserved, Beatings, tear gas, abuse.” 

The title track refers to a street that his grandfather lived on in Bath, England before taking a journey into the unknown and going to Australia; a journey that Thompson recently experienced in reverse in moving to the U.K. Both End of the Day and You See Through appear to be songs written with his wife in mind and celebrating her strength, in addition to the loving bond they share, as fellow adventurers in the world. An excellent addition to the body of work produced by this talented singer songwriter.

Review by Paul McGee

The Reverend Shawn Amos and the Brotherhood Blue Sky Put Together

When your CV lists talents that include musician, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and record producer, it’s a safe bet to assume that there have been plenty of landmarks along the way that have shaped the arc of this career.

Best known as a blues singer and harmonica player, The Reverend has released six solo albums and acted as producer on a number of Solomon Burke albums, the Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoff, UNDER THE COVERS album series and many compilations for Rhino Entertainment. He worked with Quincy Jones, produced reissues of Marvin Gaye and Herb Alpert albums and announced the formation of his own company, Amos Content Group, to develop content for digital media/traditional companies.

When he decided to put together a regular band and to record some new music the Reverend recruited the skills of drummer Brady Blade (Buddy & Julie Miller, Dave Matthews, Indigo Girls), bassist Christopher Thomas (Norah Jones, Carly Simon, Macy Gray), and long-time aide-de-camp, guitarist Chris “Doctor” Roberts. 

The ten tracks featured are tightly performed and an array of additional guests appear to really fill out the sound – the horn section featuring Jamelle Adisa, Marc Bolin, Mike Cottone, Matthew Demerritt, Dan Weinstein; the lap steel, pedal steel and dobro playing of Ben Peeler , Matt Hubbard on piano, Hammond organ and wurlitzer, Johann Stein on additional guitar and James Saez on electronica, display a concise yet wonderfully loose playing around the melodies and arrangements. Piper Amos (Shawn’s daughter) and Sharlotte Gibson contribute on backing vocals throughout and Tim Ganard, plus John Montgomery are credited with extra drum parts.  

The Country inflected sound of opener, Stranger Than Today, is quickly followed by the Blues groove of Troubled Man and a duet with the superb Ruthie Foster. Counting Down the Days is an electric blues swamp romp that gets mean and dirty with the repeating guitar motif and killer harmonica playing on top of great keyboard fills.

Two further songs, The Pity and the Pain and Albion Blues feature guest vocalist Kenya Hathaway and both songs deliver soulful performances with a slow tempo. The Job Is Never Done and Hold Back are straight out R’n’B workouts with driving rhythm and backing vocals that soar. 

27 Dollars is an up-tempo jump blues arrangement and the slow groove of Her Letter is soulful and laid back. Final track, Keep the Faith, Have Some Fun, let’s all the dogs loose in a terrific blues/jazz stomp that highlights the celebratory nature of this music. 

Reverend Amos is a fine singer and plays harmonica with the religious zeal of a true believer. Really impressive stuff all round and a definite purchase for any discerning lover of the RnB, soul-train sound.

Review by Paul McGee

Phil Gammage It’s All Real Good Self Release

Released towards the end of 2019, this ninth record confirms Phil Gammage as a musician of some resonance and staying power. His previous eight albums, including a terrific compilation, Motel Songs, with 20 tracks, released on SourMash USA Records in 2002, are a testament to the talent that he displays as a songwriter, singer, harmonica player and guitarist. 

His writing is focused in the area of blues/folk/roots music and the nine tracks on this album were all written by Gammage and recorded at 30 Below Studio in New York City, where he now resides. His most recent albums were Used Man For Sale (2016), The American Dream (2015) and Adventures in Bluesland (2014). He tours either as a solo performer or with his band, The Phil Gammage Quartet, always garnering praise for his authentic body of work and song-writing talents.

The band on this project is Gammage on vocals, guitar and harmonica, with Kenny Margolis on accordion, Tony Mann on percussion, Michele Butler on vocals and David Fleming on additional harmonica. Together, they have a stripped down, tight sound that leans very much towards acoustic folk/blues and clocks in on thirty minutes, which means it does not overstay its welcome, yet leaves the listener wanting more – always a good sign.

It all starts with the most up-tempo track on the album, It’s All Real Good, a nice blues groove led by the sweet brush work of Mann on percussion. The slow gypsy accordion on Hellcat Maggie is a joy and the harmonica playing on Dancing On Top Of the World is very tasty and compliments the folk influenced arrangement. The Second Time Around combines both accordion and harmonica to great effect and the bare bones of Wandering Stars has an easy tempo and melody that pleases. The salsa swing to Naked In the Rain is another standout but really, the whole project deserves praise for the cohesion in both the playing and the production by Tony Mann, which is both airy and bright in the speakers.

For those of you who are new to this artist, it’s never too late to jump on board. 

Review by Paul McGee

Some New Reviews

Michael McDermott What In The World Pauper Sky

There is a sense of purpose and perception to this new album from Michael McDermott. An album for these times as evidenced by the title track and opening song (a bonus acoustic version closes the album). It is a powerful statement about and indictment of America in its current divided and uneven status quo that lists any number of problems that have become apparent to most in recent years … “walls along the border, kids in cages, executive orders, welfare for billionaires, people hungry everywhere.” It is a powerhouse rock song with an insistent chorus that that belies its lyrical content, which with a different lyrical message, could have been as easily be construed as an anthem for something more upbeat. In many ways its downbeat message also affirms that there is going to be a positive turnaround at some point as people relalise that what they have now is not what they need or in any way the best for all. 

However McDermott manages to look a little closer to home with some of these songs and the ways that that bigger picture has an underlying effect that can be seen in the way people deal with their individual issues of living their lives. The couple in New York, Texas have to have a belief that if they stay true, despite everything, to what they believe that then God would bless them, at least that’s what Mama said. There is an uncertainty though that tries to find some truth in each other. Blue Eyed Barmaid is a conversation between a PTSD suffering vet and the woman in the bar serving him. With the latter opening up rather than the other way round. It is however something of a deeper assessment of both parties that again highlights McDermott’s lyrical skill in the telling of these details as well as showing his assured and assertive vocal ability which he has developed over any number live shows as well as in the studio. 

Equally engaging are the religious assertions of Mother Emanuel. The declaration of love in a true sense in Until I Found You is heartfelt and honest. While Contender is a hard realisation in that while the subject had the potential to achieve more he had “hurt the ones I loved the most, I burned bridges from coast to coast, I just didn’t fit, I was an idiot” - something that only can be realised by a certain distance and understanding. This is the work on a writer who has known failure and desperation but also love and can turn those experiences into songs that have resonance and a sense of reality that has been hard fought but, ultimately, won. The piano-based Die With Me is about standing up to adversity and facing it with courage. There is much to hear on many levels in these eleven songs. All are deeply rooted in the now and how that effects anyone who shares some of McDemott’s views and sensitivity.

This is also an album where McDermott achieves a sound that is as robust as it is righteous. There is a solid enhancement of the often rockin’ feel here with such added elements in the recording such as saxophone and banjo added to the overall soundscape. The team involved are hand picked and go back to his days fronting The Westies. This time out McDermott is again working with a set of musicians he has know and played with over the last number of years including bassist Lex Price (who also mixed this and previous albums), keyboard player John Deaderick, drummer Fred Eltringham, guitarist Will Kimbrough alongside Heather Lynne Horton, his wife, on fiddle and vocals. This brings a steadfast continuity to the recording as these are musicians who are both familiar with McDermott as well as with his music and the ways to develop it. It is a confident and capable statement given the chaos and, sometimes, heartbreak that surrounds it. 

What in the world would we do without music of this calibre to balance all of the ongoing negativity that surrounds us? That is a question that we don’t need, at this point, to answer when there are so many musicians who are heeding that call. Times may be tough but that’s exactly when we need an artist like this.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Wookalily Everything Is Normal Roxy

On this their second album, Northern Ireland’s long established all female band has opted for a major change of direction. Initially known for their bluegrass-influenced sounds, they have veered headlong into psychedelic folk noir territory and they truly sound like no one else. The full title of the record is EVERYTHING IS NORMAL EXCEPT THE LITTLE THINGS INSIDE MY HEAD and this gives a hint as to what’s in store. Still, nothing can truly prepare one for the melange of sounds and influences that make this such a fun and enjoyable album. 

Touché, with it’s concertina intro, slow jazzy strut and Lyndsay Crowther’s sultry vocals puts a strong French stamp on proceedings from early on. Adele Ingram leads on her own composition  Welcome to The Fold - a wry and affectionate look inside the mind of a dementia patient, frustrated with the constraints and confusion of living in assisted accommodation. Appropriately there’s a distinct feeling of dystopia and psychedelia, wrought by the talents in particular of   multi-instrumentalist Clair McGreevy, who plays at least 8 different instruments. Sonic dissonance is used here and indeed throughout the album, successfully contributing to the feeling of surreal otherworldliness. Clair sings lead and plays electric lead guitar on her only writing contribution Vampyre, a standout track which also showcases Louise Potter’s strong drum/percussion skills. More darkness, albeit mostly tongue in cheek, abounds in Ghost, Forever Folly and The Old Hag.

Ten of the songs are written by the talented songwriter and founder member Adele Ingram, who also plays guitars and mandolin. The other long-standing band member Sharon Morgan has expanded her repertoire to include double bass as well as her 5-string banjo playing. Lyndsay Crowthers also contributes a strong love song, Whiskey and Wine, which features a gorgeous hook on electric guitar from Clair and is underpinned by Sharon Morgan’s insistent banjo. 

The record was produced by Julie McClarnon (Alasdair Roberts, Yorkston/Thorne/Khan, Jeffrey Lewis) in her Rathfriland Analogue Catalogue studios on vintage analogue equipment. There’s also some great artwork from Sharon Morgan and a (rather difficult to follow) detailed lyrics/info booklet. Definitely worth seeking out.

Review by Eilís Boland

Jennis The Mirror Self Release

Context is everything. Jennis’s opening song on THE MIRROR now has a very different effect on me from when I first listened to it a few weeks ago, pre-pandemic. Dennis Gaumond’s lyrics in You Never Know now seem scarily prescient - ‘Nothing is for certain. This could be the final curtain’! Equally, the second track Go Viral has a similar theme - ‘Everything is changing in the universe, it’s just another chapter’.

Canadians from Ontario, Dennis Gaumond and his band mate Jennifer Gillmor together make up the band Jennis. Multiinstrumentalists both, on this second album they offer a truly mesmeric selection of musical styles as vehicles for Dennis’s songwriting. From the reggae (with harmonica) of the opener, through the heavy rock of Run with the Wolves, the bossa nova of Mountain Top, the bluesy funk of Too much Stuff, one is left with the distinct message that Jennis are not at all happy with the current state of the world. Over the 13 songs (all original except for a cover of Bob Marley’s Get Up, Stand Up) they call out corrupt politicians, environmental damage and capitalism. There are several songs that reference ageing, and the aforementioned Too much Stuff left this reviewer to feel a little bit uncomfortable, I must admit!

Self produced, Jennifer plays a range of instruments from cello to didgeridoo to jaw’s harp, Dennis plays a selection of mainly stringed instruments, and they call in several friends to help out, notably Tom Wolf on percussion. 

The cover art is a clever pop art design incorporating head shots of the duo.

This record may not be for everyone, given that its political credentials are worn so clearly on its sleeve but worth checking out by the alternative hippy types out there.

Review by Eilís Boland

Lynne Hanson Just Words Continental Song City

This Canadian singer-songwriter is based in Ottawa, Ontario and has released eight previous albums, including a collaboration with her fellow Canadian artist and good friend, Lynn Miles (The LYNNeS). Hanson has been categorised as a Folk singer but her creative muse goes much further than just defining her craft in such straight jacketed terms. Her songs tend to focus on matters of the heart and the fragilities of relationships, both imagined and lived through. She is a true wordsmith and her eclectic tastes in music are evidenced by forays into Blues and light Jazz grooves to some of the songs included here. Also, Hanson is not averse to cranking up the electric guitars in addition to delivering in the Folk/Pop arena with one eye on the populist vote.

This album was produced by Jim Bryson at Fixed Hinge Recording in Ottawa and the sublime studio band includes Canadian icon Kevin Breit on electric guitar, Marshall Bureau on drums, MJ Dandeneau on bass and Jim Bryson on guitar, keyboards and piano. There are also guest appearances from singer-songwriter Catherine MacLellan on four tracks, Tara Holloway (co-write on the title track), Anders Drerup and Justin Rutledge.

True Blue Moon debunks the notion that there is a special one out there, waiting for us to align our galaxies, while the realism of Hearts Fade and the realisation that you can never go back is a more sobering message. Feeling vulnerable over someone left behind is also a strong emotion and Long Way Home takes a rueful glance at just such a relationship with the lines “I wore the soles right off my boots, Running from the ghost of you” summing up the urge to move beyond.

The title track has an angry grunge feel with electric guitars snarling out the message that words can hurt as much as anything physical, whether through family or social media pressures; “Stay safe in the crowd, Cause whispered words can be so loud.” The Blues/Gospel groove of Higher Ground brings a message of turning the other cheek and rising above and the duelling acoustic guitars on Such A Random Thing are a joy to behold while Hanson sings of fate and circumstance and the road not taken.

Lollipops and Roses has a mean electric sound to highlight the bitter experience of hard life lessons and dreams of a better day beyond this world. The slow melody of Every Minute In Between is a glimpse at a broken heart, aching for an old flame and haunted by a past that is long gone. Hemingway’s Songbird channels the frustration of a creative artist who tries to keep that spark, both in terms of the writing process and also, looking to keep a grip on reasons to stay in a barren relationship. Final track, Would You Still, is a bluesy shuffle that asks questions of commitment to another, something of a theme on this collection of songs that pose more questions than providing answers to the vagaries of love. 

Throughout, the rhythm and tempo of these songs are perfectly augmented by the sensitive playing of these stellar musicians, making the listening process one of absolute pleasure from start to finish. A terrific addition to the body of work that has been carefully crafted by Lynne Hanson and one which raises the bar quite a few rungs.

Review by Paul McGee

Billy Roberts and the Rough Rider The Southern Sessions Self Release

This singer songwriter was born in the small town of Moree, located in a northerly part of New South Wales, Australia. Despite my efforts to track him down, there appears to be no official website and precious little information available regarding his career in music. There is the occasional review of one of the three albums he has released prior to this current project. His debut, The Last of the Originals, appeared in 2014 and was quickly followed by Go By Myself, a second helping of tunes that arrived in 2015. The last release was Greenbah, named after a local community in NSW and which appeared in 2017

He has recorded in Nashville I believe, but again, I have no details and with no liner notes, his band members or studio players will continue to remain a mystery. Indeed, neither is there anything regarding interviews with Roberts himself. Quite refreshing in one sense, to be a virtual recluse in this media crazy day and age. Can’t help his bank balance however, unless he is yet another musician who is holding down a day job in order to keep body and soul together.

Of the ten tracks featured here, eight have appeared on previous releases; four each taken from The Last of the Originals and Go By Myself. The two new songs are the opener, Hillbilly Blues, a guitar driven Rock sound complete with horn section; plus, Special, a slow tempo Country song with lap steel and nice guitar lines. Overall, the sound is one of laid-back Americana/Country influenced arrangements and the easy groove of My Baby Gone Cold (nice piano), I Was Young (sweet violin), Gone To the Dogs and Driving make for very pleasant listening. 

With You is another Country flavoured song with nice interplay between lap steel, guitar and piano while the harmonica playing on No More Mr Nice Guy is worth questioning why the instrument does not feature more often on other tracks. Seen It All Before is an up-tempo number with a warm organ sound and the abiding feeling is one of well delivered songs, played with an easy flow, melody and timbre. 

Review by Paul McGee

Emily Keener I Do Not Have To Be Good Self Release

This singer songwriter has been playing music from a very young age and took part in a series of the Voice on American TV, in addition to releasing a debut album back in 2013. Given that she is now in her early 20’s this points to quite a musical pedigree already in her fledgling career and Keener also released an EP in 2015, followed by her next album, Breakfast, in 2016. I think it fair to say that she was learning her craft during this development stage and that her own true voice has gradually been emerging, almost as if the butterfly has realised that the time has come to emerge from the chrysalis.

This release is a very impressive set of nine songs that come in just shy of 40 minutes and which frame a push/pull dance between desires and fears in the emotions, feelings and thoughts of a young artist who is maturing into adulthood. Keener grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and had a Christian upbringing which has shaped a lot of her contemplations and perspective on life. She is not afraid to show her uncertainty and vulnerability in these songs and there is a sense of fragile isolation that runs through the imagery and words that are bathed in the most atmospheric and melodic ‘less-is-more’ playing.

Keener handles vocals, guitar and bass with a deft quality and a confidence that centres the entire project in terms of emotional feel. She is joined by the superb playing of Eli Hanley on keyboards, who adds subtle dynamics on a number of tracks and also featured is the gently restrained and quite compelling playing of both Dan Fernandez on muted drums and percussion, plus Seth Bain on bass, to anchor the songs. 

Ace producer Dalton Brand engineered everything at his WaveBurner recording studio in Port Clinton, Ohio and he also contributes bass on one song, the recent single, Do You Love Me Lately. There is an appearance from Curtis Leonard who plays gentle acoustic guitar on the song, Static, while Cathalyn provides harmony vocals on the stand-out song for me, I Know - all breathy layers of ethereal sounds.

Themes of self-analysis and doubt run through the sparse and stripped back arrangements, from the understated religious referencing on Nap, as an almost saving element in wanting to emotionally consume another; to the sense of self criticism and feeling of not coping on I Don’t Know Anything –  “There's got to be a number we can call.”

The question of therapy seems to inhabit the song Static and the comfort in late night radio prevails - music as a release from old ghosts – “What were we doing on that couch, No one in that room was gonna figure anybody out.” 

 Her sense of mother nature is a part of Mary, I Love Her and the self-examination of trying to live outside our thoughts - almost like a witness to her place in the world. Her own dark angel is confronted in Elbow and the abiding message to keep on learning and loving is addressed in the song, I Know, with the line, “How could a love like this be wrong?”

This is delicate, reflective music that demands to be heard.  

Review by Paul McGee

Dave Simonett Red Tail Thirty Tigers

A first solo album from Dave Simonett, the frontman of alt-bluegrass/country band Trampled By Turtles and indie band Dean Man Winter. The album is testament to his capacity to deliver emotional and calming pieces of music, delivered with his trademark vocals. Much of the material is sparse and all the better for it, the temptation to beef the songs up thankfully set aside. Pisces, Queen of Hearts is delivered with only acoustic and pedal steel guitar alongside Simonett’s vocals, which are cleverly layered, the backing vocal at a slightly different pitch. By The Light Of The Moon, the shortest track and under two and a half minutes, is equally dreamlike and atmospheric and It Comes And Goes follows a matching thread. The country-ish Silhouette recalls his work with Trampled By Turtles. The stand out track is In The Western Wind And The Sunrise. A piano intro merges into fuzzy echoed vocals and morphs in to an instrumental mid track.

Half of the album was recorded at his own studio in Minneapolis and the balance at Pachyderm Studios in the woods of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, where acts such as The Jayhawks, P.J.Harvey and Nirvana have also worked. Simonett was joined by a number of friends at Pachyderm and the tracks cut there were recorded live. The album’s closer There’s A Lifeline Deep In The Night Sky includes a false start and ends with a healthy vocal celebration by all the players, having managed to deliver the song in one take - all good fun.

 In many ways RED TAIL reminded me of Jay Farrar’s solo work, perfectly understated songs that could have been dressed up but work even better semi naked. They come across as songs that that were conceived without any pressure or deadlines and are all the better for that. This is an album that should appeal to a wider audience than lovers of Trampled By Turtles and Dead Man Winter and is well worth your attention.

Review by Declan Culliton

Andy Brasher Myna Bird Self Release

Residing in Nashville currently, Andy Brasher is a Kentucky born artist who has been recording since 2007, when he released his debut solo album CROWS AND BUZZARDS. That album was recorded mostly acoustic and a remodelling of the title track appears on his latest release MYNA BIRD.  The album was recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville and co-produced by Harry Lee Smith (Angeleena Presley, Martina Mc Bride) and Ross Hogarth (REM, Shawn Colvin, John Mellencamp). Hiring those big hitters to oversee the recording was money well spent as the mix is perfect, Brasher’s vocals are crystal clear and the guitar riffs and solos are stunning.

Whether it was his intention or not, the first three tracks could be perceived as a mini soap opera, based around the same characters.  The opener 21 has shades of Jason Isbell about it, as the writer hungers for former years and the wild and abandon carefree times he enjoyed with his lover (‘looking back’s all you’ve got to look forward to’). What follows on the track Day Of The Trial is a rampant couple out of control, drinking, drugging and heading on an inevitable collision course. It’s a great full sound, more Drive By Truckers than Isbell this time around, guitar driven and with a killer mini solo. The final scene in the trilogy is the previously mentioned Crows and Buzzards. It’s a cold-eyed tale which features the writer standing over the corpse of his (former) lover, shovel in hand, presumably having slain her and about to leave her body for nature to take over.

It’s not all car crash material, however, Checkbook is a tongue in cheek country honky tonker and Close Your Eyes is an impressive Robert Earl Keen sounding country ballad. Drugs In the Tip Jar is a straight down the middle rocker that boasts some killer Stonesy guitar playing. The title track bookends the album in fine style. It’s a simple ballad with less of a rockier edge than most of the album’s material and lyrics that don’t attempt to be overly clever. It’s also a fitting closer to an album that rocks and soothes in large doses. Well worth checking out.

Review by Declan Culliton

Shelby Lynne Self-Titled Thirty Tigers

With fifteen albums under her belt across a career that has spanned three decades, Shelby Lynne’s output has ranged from pop to country and soul to blues. Her most commercial recording I AM SHELBY LYNNE (1999) won her a Grammy, but that pop/rock musical template was never really where Lynne was most comfortable. Country soul finds her at her most relaxed, best represented on her 2008 Dusty Springfield tribute album JUST A LITTLE LOVIN’, which also proved to be one of her most commercially successful releases. Her most recent recording, prior to this album, was a collaboration with her sister Allison Moorer in 2017 titled NOT DARK YET. That album was a collection of covers and re-works of material written by The Louvin Brothers, Merle Haggard, Townes Van Zandt and Bob Dylan alongside two puzzling choices in both Kurt Cobain and Nick Cave.

This latest recording came about by way of a partnership with film director and screen writer Cynthia Mort. It’s essentially a soundtrack from the yet to be released film titled WHEN WE KILL THE CREATORS. The film’s subject matter examines the relationship between art and commerce. Lynne was the ideal candidate to deliver the soundtrack, given her unwillingness to allow record labels to dictate to her throughout her career.

It’s also her most stripped back recording, her dazzling vocals often accompanied only by background guitar and piano. Lynne performs most of the instrumentation herself, including some neat saxophone work on My Mind’s Riot. Although the material was co-written with Mort, it has Lynne’s stamp firmly embedded on the majority of the songs. Relationships won and lost are recurrent themes with titles such as I Got You, Love Is Coming, Lovefear and the two standout tracks Don’t Even Believe In Love and Revolving Broken Heart. The latter is hugely atmospheric with a vocal delivery that is delivered dreamlike and layered, with perfectly timed brushed acoustic guitar and tingling piano.

 Given the album’s theme there is similarity across many of the tracks, but repeated listens uncover individual nuances and overtones. Lynne’s vocals are stunning throughout, unhurried and patient as one song tumbles effortlessly into the next. Like much of her work, this self-titled album is unlikely to reach an audience outside her followers which is shameful, given her talent.

Review by Declan Culliton

Latest Album Reviews

Nels Andrews Pigeon And The Crow Self Release

Recorded at Whispering Pines Clubhouse/Studio in Los Angeles, PIGEON AND THE CROW is the fourth studio album recorded by Santa Cruz resident Nels Andrews. The album was produced by Irish composer and flautist Nuala Kennedy and her stamp is evident across much of the album as she plays flute, keys and adds backing vocals. A mix of folk and traditional music, the album emphasises Andrews creative song writing and relaxed vocals.

Andrews and Kennedy were in good company in Lord Huron’s Whispering Pines Studio in Los Angeles during the recording. The players included Quinn on drums, Pete Harvey on cello, Jonathan Goldberger on electric guitar, Stelth Ulvang on accordion and Sebastian Steinberg on bass. Completing the impressive contributors were Anais Mitchell, Anthony Da Costa and A.J. Roach, who all added vocals.

There is a distinctive Celtic feel to a number of tracks, hardly surprising given Kennedy’s input. The impressive title track in particular and Eastern Poison Oak both have strong roots in traditional music this side of the pond. Table By The Kitchen is instantly catchy, the blend of Andrews' and Anais Mitchell’s vocal on the chorus working delightfully. 

 Poetry put to music best describes the album. A pleasing and rewarding listen from start to finish, it’s an album that embraces the foremost elements of folk and traditional music.

Review by Declan Culliton

Trudy & Dave Out Of Our Minds Blue Moon

Another album that slots into the Nordicana genre that we have been dipping into in recent times. Trudy and Dave are Johanna Demker and Alf Bretteville, two artists that have released numerous albums in different projects over the years. Norwegian Alf fronts his own band Bretteville and Swedish Johanna has recorded five solo albums, together with songwriting and collaborating with various European artists. Having collaborated together in the late 90’s, they decided to join forces and combine their collective talents with this debut album under their recently formed project.

The duo’s name most likely originated from the John Hiatt song of the same name as the album closes with an impressive cover version of Hiatt’s Wood Chipper. In the main the tracks explore the grungier side of Americana. Full on rockers include the instantly catchy Force Of Nature and the driving 1000 Guns. Walk On Water is a similarly formulaic guitar driven anthem, well written and full of melodies and hooks and benefitting from their impressive combined vocals. However, it’s not all guns blazing and they take their feet off the accelerator for the more laid-back songs Space and Can’t Get High. Equally melodic is the gorgeous Loving Breeze with Demker taking the lead vocal on what is possibly the album's standout track.

The album offers a sound that leans more towards straight rock than Americana but it’s loaded with swagger and positive energy that beg to be played at maximum.

Review by Declan Culliton

Clem Snide Forever Just Beyond Thirty Tigers

Described by NPR as the most underrated songwriter in the business today, Israeli born Eef Barzelay formed the band Clem Snide in 1991. The name was derived from a character that regularly appeared in the writings of William S. Burroughs. Since then they have recorded fifteen albums. Without gaining much deserved critical acclaim outside their hard core following, they have disbanded and re-formed, with Barzelay taking time out to record two solo albums during this time.

Further turmoil followed, a broken marriage, the band breakup and bankruptcy may have resulted in the towel being thrown in for once and for all. Enter Steve Avett of North Carolina’s finest alt-folkers The Avett Brothers. Barzelay became aware that The Avetts had covered one of his songs at a recent concert and he took the opportunity of passing a song he had written to them. It transpired that they were fans of Clem Snide and a relationship developed.

Fast forward to last year and Steve Avett is behind the controls and producing what is possibly Clem Snide’s strongest body of work to date. That’s not to say that FOREVER JUST BEYOND is a change in musical direction, it’s not. Rather it comes across as an album by an artist whose confidence has returned in droves and with batteries recharged. The songs deal with dark times and self-loathing, but, more importantly, with re-birth and survival. Avett’s production always ensures that the lyrics are out in front, massaged often only by simple acoustic guitar and harmony vocals by Avett.

We hear of a broken relationship in Sorry Charlie, the meaning of life is contemplated on Easy. Undoubtably The Ballad of Eef Barzelay is the most personal and intense song he has composed. It recollects ongoing struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, but also durability and acceptance.   

The album is testament to the power of survival and rebirth by an artist that has lived through, and survived, troubled times.  It may only reach Clem Snide’s audience but newcomers to Barzelay’s music would be well advised to also delve into his impressive back catalogue.

Review by Declan Culliton

Dave Favours and The Roadside Ashes Not Your Average Country Band Stanley

Well for a start they are an Australian band and that’s not entirely average but far from unheard of. Dave Favours by all accounts is a music man through and through, playing, recording, releasing as well as watching, listening and buying it. He grew up listening to country music, but it was garage and punk that first attracted his attention and energies. After a number of different directions and a couple of solo releases, he now fronts this band that are influenced by such acts as the Exile-era Rolling Stones through Steve Earle to the Drive-By Truckers. This Sydney based alt-country outfit have released an album of songs written by Favours (aka Forrester) along with a cover of the Beasts Of Bourbon’s I’ve Let You Down Again.  The band is made up of Favours on vocals, harmonic and acoustic guitars with Dave Hart on bass, John Jensen on drums and Aaron Langman on lead and pedal steel guitar.

There is a pleasing roughness to this robust and roots rockin’ sound and that includes Favours' rough hewn vocals. The album opens in fine style with Happy Anniversary, a catchy track about change and trying find something that takes life out of a rut. It has a good hook and a strong chorus that sets the album up. Vanessa’s Day again has a strong chorus and some Hammond and pedal steel to sweeten the mix, as well as Favours’ harmonica textures. All of these elements are used throughout to enhance the bedrock rhythm section that underpins the sound. Part Time and It Rained are both songs that offer the trademark elements of the band sound, all working in its favour. There is a lot here to remind one of the cow-punk sound that held sway in the 80s in America - a sound that was, as mentioned earlier, influenced by EXILE ON MAIN STREET as well as by bands like The Backsliders and early Whiskeytown.

Producer/engineer Michael Carpenter gets the best out of these songs and delivers a robust sounding album that never loses its edge with over-production and polish. The scene in Sydney appears to be as small as it is in most cities outside of major centres like East Nashville and Austin. From their Facebook page there seems to be a number of bands and singers who form a roots community. Interestingly, Stanley Records released a three CD set Take Me To Town of Australian Alternative Country; so it would seem that there is a healthy scene down under too. Most are unlikely to be your average country band, but if they are like Dave Favours and The Roadside Ashes they are bound to entertain and engage.

Review by Stephen Rapid

The Gossamer Strings Due To The Darkness Self Release

What joy it is to discover a little gem like this! The Gossamer Strings are Liat Lis and Kyle McGonegle, who are partners in music and in life. They hail from Eugene, Oregon and they have produced a stunning album that could well have slipped under your radar.

The duo may be firmly rooted in the folk and old time tradition but they are simultaneously driving the tradition forward into the future. 

Liat takes most of the singing duties, while also leading many of the songs with her expert claw hammer banjo playing. Kyle is equally adept on guitar, mandolins and bass, while harmonising sweetly. Somewhat unusually for the genre, their songwriting is as strong as their instrumental prowess, all the while addressing the perennial themes of love and relationship conflict. Kicking off with a plaintive gently paced country ballad She Can’t Hear Her Heart, Liat sings about a woman who is constantly on the move in order to avoid further heartbreak - “she can’t hear her heart ... but it’s better than knowin’, ‘cos knowin’ can hurt”. They are joined on this track by co-producer Billy Barnett on piano. In Everything Breaks, a lover describes why the relationship has reached the inevitable end - “I’ll clothe you in forgiveness, I’ll dress your wounds with care, ‘til you wear my generosity threadbare”. Billy Barnett’s piano underpins the moving Try Your Hand which eloquently explores how the pain of past heartbreak holds back future commitment, while Following Through also mines the same commitment issue. In addition to the eight original songs and one instrumental, they cover three ‘traditional’ songs (ie the writers’ names have been lost in the annals of time) Going to the West, Train on the Island and Sandy Boys. The production is very much of the ‘less is more’ variety and is perfect for the material.

 Definitely worth seeking out.

Review by Eilís Boland  

The Lonesome Ace Stringband Modern Old-Time Sounds For The Bluegrass and Folksong Jamboree Self Release

The Lonesome Aces have released yet another album that is essential listening for any fan of good folk music. In marked contrast to their last (equally excellent) offering, this time they have concentrated on interpretations of songs and tunes written by others, either quite recently or, more commonly, in the distant past. Self-produced and recorded mainly live to tape in their native Toronto, it captures their essence and their progressive approach to old-time string band music.

All three can take lead vocals and all three are masters of their instruments - Chris Coole on clawhammer banjo (and occasionally guitar), Max Heineman on bass and John Showman on fiddle. As well as their dynamic spirited playing, their three-part harmonies are unequalled, in my opinion.

There’s a version of the Stanley Brothers’ Stone Walls and Steel Bars which is very different from the original, particularly due to those harmonies. There’s a bluegrassy interpretation of the Marty Robbins classic Big Iron. Newer songs include Fool’s Gold from the pen of the late folkie Lhasa de Sela (Lilith Fair) and a beautiful rendition of Brennan Leigh & Noel McKay’s The Only Other Person in the Room.

My only minor quibble with the record is that the rendition of Hazel Dickens’ chilling song of lament/protest about the devastating miners’ lung disease Black Lung loses some of its effect by the jaunty pace at which they cover it. Regardless, this is a highly recommended album.

Review by Eilís Boland  

Eileen Rose Muscle Shoals Holy Wreckords

Ok, let’s just get this out of the way from the start; every record collection needs a few Eileen Rose inclusions and this new album is a really strong statement from a singer-songwriter who has been forging quietly away over many years to reach the acceptance she now holds among her peers. Having grown up in Boston as part of a large Irish-Italian family, her debut album in 2001 announced Rose to the music media and five albums later her talents have blossomed to consolidate her reputation as a force to be reckoned with. Whether performing with her honky-tonk band, The Silver Threads, or as part of her current band, The Holy Wreck, she delivers Americana with such an assured artistic touch that cannot be diluted. 

It helps when you engage a really crack band like The Holy Wreck and the impressive Rich Gilbert (guitar, pedal steel, Hammond, Wurlitzer) is joined by Steve Latanation (drums, vocals) and Chris MacLachlan (bass). They are a formidable unit and play with passion and great verve across the nine new tracks included here. This is a self-produced album and the cover shot of Rose outside the famed Muscle Shoals studios, with the address above her head, shows her in happy pose with a sunny smile. 

Clearly Eileen Rose has been inspired by her surroundings and she comes out of the traps singing with a real conviction on the soulful She’s Gone. Bringing matters up a few notches are two great rockers in He’s So Red and Get Up. There is a cover of a King Crimson song (what, you say!) and Matte Kudasai slows everything down as she moulds the song into her own shape. Similarly, Am I Really So Bad? has a slow tempo and a resigned vocal from Rose while the melody drifts along with restrained keyboards.

On Shady Hill has a rockabilly beat and cool guitar break while A Little Too Loud gets us back to the rock sound and her great vocal tone. She can sound like Maria McKee occasionally in her phrasing and this is no bad thing as Rose really leads from the front on vocals, guitar, Wurlitzer and harmonica. The last two tracks are a change of gear with Hush, Shhh looking at small town issues with minority groups under the lamp, while Brendan Behan song, The Old Triangle, is given a new treatment, with an added verse – maybe she would have been better advised to steer away from this one!

Also included on this new release are a selection of eight older songs that were given a new coat of paint while the band were happily located at Muscle Shoals. Any number of songs across her body of work could have been selected and the inclusions here just whet the appetite to explore her back catalogue more closely. Joshua Hedley plays fiddle on Old Time Reckoning and other favourites included are Stagger Home, Good Man, Walk the Jetty, Queen of the Fake Smile and Shining. It’s a generous seventeen tracks in all on this new release that really makes a statement of exactly where this artist currently stands in her career – front and centre!

Review by Paul McGee

The Handsome Family Odessa/Milk and Scissors Loose

Originally released in America back in the mid 1990’s on the Carrot Top Records independent label, these two albums are finally given a full European distribution, some 25 years later, on the equally eclectic Loose record label. 

It’s interesting to look back to the origins of this band and to the music that they were initially turning out. Husband and wife duo, Brett and Rennie Sparks, were living in Chicago and part of the vibrant underground music scene that exploded on the back of the cultural phenomenon that was Nirvana. The eruption of underground bands around the 1990’s gave many sideline acts the chance to express their energy through a new wave in genre hopping exploration. 

The likes of Eleventh Dream Day, Tortoise and Liz Phair were among many acts suddenly given the opportunity to break out of the local Chicago scene and The Handsome Family also caught this wave. It was Alt. Country; it was Inde Folk; it was Country Noir – it didn’t matter how you tried to define it - this move towards a new sound and attitude. Indeed, it was just that, an attitude, the chance for artists to redefine music on their own terms and a confidence to mix Folk, Punk and a DIY approach that was a rejection of norms and an aesthetic that captured the energy of the times.  

The offbeat lyrics of Rennie Sparks display a sense of the absurd in the minutiae of everyday living. Her skewed murder ballads mixed with imaginings of a dystopian society and the hypothesis of mother nature taking a kind of perverse revenge against all the excess in urban life. The loneliness of apartment living displayed against the freedom of the countryside and a wish to never be pigeonholed, in either musical terms or in social niceties, declared that the Family Sparks would become darlings of the fringe music scene. Although their home recordings would be refined over time, these two early albums show where the creative spark (excuse the pun) of the band began to take hold.  

On the cover of the Odessa album is a picture of a poodle, being held by its owner and the domestic innocence of the image is juxtaposed with the sketch of a fox which appears on the inner gatefold. The safe, suburban feel of one against the more natural feral image of the latter. Something that the early music reflected with the juxtaposition between heavy and light threaded through the sound of tracks like Gorilla, Giant Ant and One Way Up. The opening track, Here’s Hopin’ is a sonic attack of fuzz guitar, á la Pixies, echoed by songs like Pony and Big Bad Wolf, in really letting their sense of alienation manifest through a cacophony of loud sound. 

The band used the drumming of Mike Werner on the early releases and his percussion helped to fill out the sound of these songs. Against that, we are also treated to the simple Country arrangements of tracks like Arlene, Water Into Wine and The Last. Separately, songs like Moving Furniture Around and Claire Said have the feel of early REM about them.

The band would have provided the perfect soundtrack to a David Lynch film with their tension filled music, acerbic lyrics and uneasy demeanour. Dark messages in a crash of manic, off kilter tunes against the easy gentle sway of acoustic melodies. This frisson is hypnotic throughout and even if there are rough edges everywhere, it was no doubt intended to be that way. Never let the listener relax is what this music says, another twist in the tail awaits. 

The second album, Milk and Scissors, a few years later, saw a big jump in the sound with the emphasis very much on a gentler Country palette, the same sense of the absurd and dislocation in the lyrics, but less of the ramshackle glorious mess of the debut release. What the band would become was starting to take shape with songs like Drunk By Noon, The King Who Wouldn’t Smile and Emily Shore 1819-1939 containing oddly sweet tunings and simple arrangements. Lake Geneva is a fine example of the creativity of the band and their playfulness around a Leonard Cohen song (Suzanne), with a tale about camping, the great outdoors and mental illness recovery. Other tracks like #1 Country Song and The House Carpenter (a Country Noir duet) pointed to the softer melodies that would colour their direction and The Dutch Boy and Tin Foil were other standout tracks on this more focused release. 

Fifteen albums later, including compilations, rarities, demos, outtakes and live releases, the band stand as a beacon to independence and never compromising. Nobody ever sounded quite like them as they stood convention upon its head with their angular perspectives. It all started here and these are two essential milestones in the development of one of music’s most quixotic innovators!

Review by Paul McGee

Betsy Phillips Like We’re Talking Self Release

This 5-track EP is the second release from a very interesting artist who was born in Nebraska and has been living in Nashville since 2012. Her debut EP, More Like Home, emerged in 2013 with songs that pointed her in a promising direction. I am unsure what exactly has been happening over the last six years but given that these new songs were recorded at Goosehead Palace in Nashville, it’s fair to assume that Phillips is alive and well on the local music circuit there. 

Producer Dan Knobler (Lake Street Dive, Erin Rae) does a wonderful job of capturing the sweetly sad vocals of Phillips and his contributions on both acoustic and baritone guitars blend seamlessly with the other guitarist Anthony da Costa (Sarah Jarosz, Joy Williams) and bassist Ethan Jodziewicz (Sierra Hull), both of whom play with understated dexterity and add plenty of subtle colour to these gentle tunes. Danny Mitchell contributes all keyboards including organ, piano, synth and Wurlitzer sounds with a less-is-more touch that compliments the easy flow of the songs.

The soft melody and arrangement of the title track reflects upon a relationship where the death of a partner is viewed through the eyes of the deceased, reflecting upon a sense of closeness that remains in the everyday. Yours To Forget is another love song but with a darker tale of loneliness and fragile feelings in a one-sided relationship. The slow tempo and wistful vocal are perfectly echoed in the inventive playing and superb musicianship.  

Someone Like You is an up-tempo love song that dances along like sunlight on the water with a clipped acoustic groove and superb electric guitar lines from Anthony da Costa and/or Knobler (no liner notes accompanied my copy of the EP). We Don’t Stay is a slow melody and a memory of driving by the old family home and looking at childhood, the life both left behind and also freshly created by the new family that live there now. Seeds is a final look at the need to love again and putting down the tracks that hope runs upon in looking towards the future… 

Phillips is joined on harmony vocals by Bobby Hecht, who co-wrote two of the songs. There is a credit on the back of the EP for another song, Sandhills, but this particular track isn’t included on my copy, so perhaps it was an extra track on the USA release?

Phillips is a part of the Tone Tree family where distribution is focused on creating the greatest opportunity for all concerned. Certainly, they have a real diamond in the creative talents of Betsy Phillips and this EP is hopefully a statement of real intent as she gathers momentum and moves forward.

Review by Paul McGee

 new

New Album Reviews

Gwil Owen Flying Dream Rambler

First album in awhile from noted songwriter Gwil Owen, an artist who has three previous albums to his credit. Previous co-writes by him include A Soft Pace To Fall written with and performed by Allison Moorer and Duece And A Quarter co-written with Kevin Gordon and recorded by Scotty Moore with Keith Richards. FLYING DREAM was recorded in Nashville (in several people’s homes). It features some fine playing from the likes of the ubiquitous Will Kimbrough on guitars, Rick Lonow on drums and pedal steel and saxophones from Jim Hoke alongside a host of other musician’s contribution on keyboards, trumpet, bongos, viola, and cello. They all join Gwil who plays guitar, bass, keyboards, synth, banjo as well as handling vocals. Brydget Carrillo adds harmony vocals on several tracks. The album is dedicated to the late Dukes bassist Kelley Looney. Another casualty who featured on the album on two songs he co-wrote (Hamster Wheel and Innocent Heart) with Owen, is the late David Olney. 

On the more uplifting moments the album covers a broad base of Americana-ish sounds. Faith Enough takes its faith from the belief of another person in their relationship and features Jim Hoke’s pedal steel guitar giving it a sense of fluid truth. I Would Lie is the confession of a serial deceiver that features Kimbrough’s hardened guitar. Carrillo’s background vocals are very much a feature of Diggin’ A Hole which has a solid groove. Cinnamon Sparkles is a piece of pop rock with a strong chorus that again sees Carrillo melding with Owen on the vocals. Hamster Wheel is a little darker which considers the repetition of life when one feels “like a hamster on a hamster wheel.” It uses a distorted vocal and Olney’s harmonica to give it a more disquieting tone. Ivy follows and it reminds me of another song which I can’t quite place at time of writing but is one of the most immediate songs on the album and almost power pop in its execution and affection for the lady in question. Money’s Tight, given its title, is harder overall. Moth Without A Flame offers the perspective of a man without the object of his desire and is bolstered by brass in its soul-tinged setting. More direct is Innocent Heart which is has another fine Owen vocal and features Owen and Olney on guitar, with some cello to give the simple basket some added texture. In an equally non-electric mode Heaven with slide guitar, banjo and viola, has a 60s folk-rock (Kaleidoscope) patina in a plea for freedom. Adrianna again focus on the love of a woman and has a lighter touch. The title track closes the album in something of a rock-baroque parameter without? over doing the sentiment of the song.

FLYING DREAMS  is something of a mixed bag of ideas that is held together by Owen’s vision and songwriting skills. It has been executed with a lot of consideration from the players to give these songs the best possible realisation in the circumstances that they were recorded in. It is therefore a testament to all involved and an album that has much to recommend it.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Nathan Kalish Songs For Nobody Self-Release 

I had not heard of Nathan Kalish prior to receiving this album (his 10th it seems, from some online posts but its hard to find a definite list). He is something of a road warrior, touring on a fairly constant basis with his band The Last Callers. On the strength of this album it sounds as though I have been missing out. Kalish, it would appear, has sported a number of different looks prior to this release which sees him clean shaven and groomed compared with the main picture on his web site and other online images. So perhaps the music has also taken a different direction than on his previous recordings. Either way, it is a good album in itself.

The songs, like those of many of his contemporaries, look to the darker corners and to those living on the fringes. In his travels as a musician he is perfectly placed to see and hear the tales of those who are disenfranchised and disheartened. For this album Kalish has opted for a more solo vision and has gathered around him a set of seasoned players and members of his current band, all of whom were able to give these songs an extra layer of conviction and skill. Former Sturgill Simpson and now Drivin’ & Cryin’ guitarist Laur Joamets features on two of the songs, but the core musicians of bassist Karen Allen, Nathan Baker on guitar and mandolin, drummer Danny Pratt and Adam Kurtz on pedal steel as well as vocalists Lucy B. Cochran and Miriam Speyer are also central to the sound of these new songs alongside Kalish. The majority of the album was given an added spontaneity by being recorded live in the studio.

All of the songs are Kalish’s compositions with the exception of one (Delta Woman) which was completed from a set of unfinished lyrics hand-written by Johnny Cash and found in a friend’s apartment. The title song directly relates to the time Kalish has spent traveling - playing gigs in often foreign towns, finding some elements of humanity whilst on the road and having to eat in some less than enthralling roadside cafes. No Hope offers clear support for those who end up with that sense of hopelessness and desperation in their lives, after they have given as much as they can. Equally Pam & Tim is a similarly honest assessment of small town living. The album closes with Wino Christmas - another hard look at a particular time and place that results in some difficult reminiscences. All of these elements make this, in fact, a set of songs for everyone who likes their music real with a hard coating of country music in several forms.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Various Artists Whiskey Preachin’ (Vol. 1) Whiskey Preachin’

Starting a new record label and especially one devoted to “21st century honky tonk for the outlaw dance floor” might be a risky business in this day and age but that doesn’t stop it from being one worthy of support and investigation. There is a selection of 12 tracks that fit the brief and the mood is upbeat and rockin’. So here’s what you get on your vinyl: Mayeux & Broussard Kool & Handsome, James Scott Bullard Jesus, Jail Or Texas, Kathryn Legendre Going Crazy, Eleven Hundred Springs Arcadian Thruway, The Rhyolite Sound Setting Me Up, Darci Carlson Rat City Bound, Ole Whiskey Revival Ramblin’, The Reeves Brothers C.C. Waterback, Kristina Murray Lovers & Liars, Ted Russel Kamp Get Off The Grid, Weldon Henson Sleep All Day, and Croy And The Boys (If I Knew What I Had To Give Up) I Never Would Have Fallen In Love.

As with any compilation, every listener will have a subjective reaction to the individual tracks and artists, and that may in fact depend on the time and place of listening. It is largely, as indicated, aimed at the dance floor and is not without its rough and ready charms. The ones that immediately hit the spot here for me were: Arcadian Thruway from Eleven Hundred Springs, Kathryn Legendre’s Going Crazy and the expletive laden Southern country blues boogie of Rat City Bound from Seattle’s Darci Carlson. Then there's the Texas made world ready hard country of Weldon Henson with Sleep All Day or the solid hard floor warning from Croy and The Boys with (If I Knew What I Had To Give Up) I Never Would Have Fallen In Love. Having made those choices for this listener, there is nothing here that  you wouldn’t want to hear.

The label is just one component of the Whiskey Preachin’ empire. It is based in Brighton and run by Tony Sexton and Reinhard Holstein (who also founded Glitterhouse Records). As well as this introductory compilation, they are releasing Las Vegas based The Rhyolite Sound’s Majove Gold album both on CD and vinyl. There is also an online magazine and a radio show involved. There is an interview with Olaf Jens by Chris Sick, both of whom are talented illustrators whose work is well worth viewing. But it's the music we are directly concerned with here and this will appeal to any whiskey preachin’, outlaw boogeying, honky tonkin’, Southern rockin’, hillbilly punkin’ person of that persuasion.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Paul Burch & The WPA Ballclub Light Sensitive Glider/Plowboy

Like his first three albums this one is credited to Burch and his team of cohorts, The WPA Ballclub. This is his 12th album and I have most of them in my collection and have enjoyed them all, from PAN AMERICAN FLASH and WIRE TO WIRE when Burch was a leading light in the resurgence of some real and traditionally-minded roots/country music, in the early days of the resurgence of what is now the tourist destination that is Lower Broadway in Nashville. Since that time he has continued to develop a unique voice, in what is an amalgamation of numerous stylistic nuances that draw from the past to bring it into the future.

He is also a storyteller of some talent, often basing his albums on pre-existing texts such as with THE LAST OF MY KIND (songs inspired by the book Jim The Boy by Tony Earley) or on his recent MERIDIAN RISING album where the songs relate to an imagined visit of Jimmy Rodgers to Manhattan. This new album has been described as twelve parables about living in the modern South. From the opening moments of Love Came Back you know you are in Burch country, with his distinctive voice joined by the harmony vocals of Carey Kotsionis over a drum, bass and edgy guitar backing. Typical of Burch, the next track is a blend of Calypso and Dixieland jazz with clarinet and tenor sax setting the tone. It tells us that Mardi Gras emanated originally from Mobile, Alabama and not from New Orleans as is generally thought. Jean Garrigue uses tenor sax again but in a more subtle jazz pose and features another fine vocal from Burch, who shows himself capable of subtlety and nuance in his delivery. Fool About Me swings along nicely with a 50s retro feel. Glider is a cool lounge pool instrumental. But all these tracks run in a seamless musical adventure, with at times a quirky lyrical diversity that will be familiar to Burch aficionados.

Production is shared between Burch and Dennis Crouch who is also the WPA bassist here. Other members of the team include Fats Kaplin, Jen Gunderman, Chloe Feoranzo and Justin Amaral, and Luther Dickinson guests on slide guitar for one track. There is a vocal appearance too from Robyn Hitchcock as an airport voice announcer on Flight To Spain - which offers something of a brief history of that country over a suitably reverb laden travelogue. Burch again contributes his usual mix of instruments to the recording including guitar, bass, drums, Wurlitzer and pedal steel guitar. All of this again underlines his vision and talent as a underrated musician and innovator in the bigger scheme of things.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Possessed By Paul James As We Go Wandering PPJ

A special education teacher and musician, Konrad Wert returned to the studio after two throat surgeries and a few years break from performing and recording. Under his stage name Possessed By Paul James (his grandad’s name was Paul and his father’s middle name was James), AS WE GO WANDERING delivers considered folk songs alongside some wild rambunctious back porch escapades. Wert has managed to produce a fluid collection of songs, not always alike yet sitting comfortably beside each other. Growing up amidst a Mennonite community in Southwest Florida, his initial exposure to music was primarily roots based. On leaving home, he embraced punk music with open arms, feasting on the sounds and attitude of Patti Smith and Iggy Pop. Like so many left of centre country acts, the influences of both roots and punk are unmistakeable on his output.

The album is very much a commentary on the strange times we live in, uncanny by times, with both tracks Be At Rest and When It Breaks even more relevant today than when written by him last year.

It explodes with the opener Come Back To My Mind, riotous fiddle and banjo flanking Wert’s semi-screaming vocals. On the same page is the lover's call Dance With Me Tonight and the similarly themed Don’t Tell Me which features only his voice and strummed banjo. More conventional folk songs included are In The Dark Of Morning and the aforementioned When It Breaks.

With his nine to five job as an educator, Wert is best placed to gauge the concerns and anxieties visited on both his students and their parents.  He does not declare to have all the answers and AS WE GO WANDERING asks more questions than offering solutions. ‘’It’s important for us to acknowledge the good, the bad and the ugly. We are more than just ourselves’’ advises the press release than accompanies the album. Truer words were never spoken.

Review by Declan Culliton

Lawrence County The Frailty Of Humans Self Release

Inspired to create their own musical landscapes in 2008, having discovered The Felice Brothers debut album TONIGHT AT THE ARIZONA, Al Rate and Bill Kerry III formed DH Lawrence & The Vaudeville Skiffle Show. They followed a matching approach to The Felice Brothers, shared vocals, banjos, fiddles and accordions, creating a sound that channelled roots music down a path that also embraced U.K. folk. Residing in Bagthorpe Delta, Nottinghamshire proved no deterrent to creating a musical racket more likely to have been cultivated in the Catskills Mountains. 

Their 2016 release SONS & LOVERS gained high praise from No Depression and they continued to attract a growing following for their lively stage shows. They re-branded in 2019 while in the process of recording THE FRAILTY OF HUMANS, slightly tweaking their signature sound while not straying too far from the Americana household. The album features twelve tracks with the song-writing credits shared by Rate and Kerry, they also go fifty - fifty on much of the instrumentation, both playing guitar and banjo.  The other band members include Charlotte Pynegar on guitar and backing vocals, Maz Clarke on backing vocals, Martin Gallimore on fiddle, accordion and piano, Peter Heron on bass and Bob Carlisle on percussion. 

What’s on offer on this album is a potent serving of all things Americana, featuring the dark and broody, They’re All There, alongside the honky tonk tongue in cheek romp I Don’t Sing Country Anymore - think Robbie Fulks at his most caustic. Bye Bye Americae is equally irreverent, with everything thrown into the mix including banjo, fiddles, brass and even police car sirens and voice overs. The Felice Brothers influence is often close to the surface and no more so that on By The Briar. It’s a dreamy slow burner featuring Kerry on lead vocal duetting seductively with Clark. 

This Is How We Do It In The Country kicks off in Willard Grant Conspiracy gloomy style with only vocal, banjo and fiddle. It’s a dark and murderous affair that changes direction mid song into an up-tempo stomp, while remaining dark and menacing.  The equally disturbing English traditional murder ballad Lucy Wan - which also includes some grisly skulduggery - gets an impressive makeover.

THE FRAILITY OF HUMANS - great title by the way - is far from a Saturday night party album. However, it’s a well-crafted body of songs that grab your attention on first play and sound better on each subsequent revisit.   

Review by Declan Culliton

Western Centuries Call The Captain Free Dirt

 It’s business as usual from Seattle based roots band Western Centuries. CALL THE CAPTAIN is the third release from them following on the footsteps of SONGS FROM THE DELUGE (2018) and WEIGHT OF THE WORLD (2016) and it’s a worthy successor to both of those albums. 

The term supergroup is hardly an exaggeration to describe the five-piece band.  With three songwriters and lead vocalists to call on, Ethan Lawton, Jim Miller and Cahalen Morrison, things could have turned out somewhat disjointed. However, once again they have managed to deliver a collection of songs that work seamlessly as a unit. As on their previous recordings, the song-writing duties are democratically shared, with each of the three contributing four songs. The twelve tracks that feature cover a wide territory from lost love to more immoral issues, intelligently written and not without splashes of humour. The two remaining band members are Nokosee Fields and Thomas Bryan Eaton, who co-produced the album with Grammy nominated Bill Reynolds, whose previous employers included Band of Horses (he also played bass with them). Eaton - who produced the superb recent album THE MOON IS AN ASHTRAY by Miss.Tess - also adds divine touches of pedal steel on every track.

A thumping drum beat kick starts the album’s opener, Lifeblood Sold, before Miller’s vocals kick in. It’s an upbeat song with a theme of resilience and features some neat fiddle from guest player Oliver Bates Craven. Space Force is on the same page, a jaunty driving sound that has echoes of The Band and ridicules Trump’s notion of creating another military branch. (‘We’ll cruise around the galaxy, taking all the bad guys down. Our crimes will be forgiven, cause the Space Dogs are back in town’) Americana godfather Jim Lauderdale and Jim Miller previously worked together in Donna The Buffalo, the band founded by Miller, and Lauderdale adds backing vocals and takes lead vocal on the final verse. Dynamite Kid, Sarah & Charlie and No Cure are trademark Western Centuries sounds, country roots at its toe tapping finest, fiddle breaks and pedal steel touches a plenty. Every Time It’s Raining and Barcelona Lighthouse find them exploring country soul territory.

They also leave room for some touching ballads. All The Things I Could Say To You Right Now features Lawton on lead vocal and Morrison takes the honours on equally moving album closer Before That Final Bell. 

Western Centuries forte is their capacity to combine the key elements of traditional country and rhythm and blues, with skilled song-writing and gifted playing. They’ve achieved that and more again this time around with this hugely enjoyable album, which I’ll no doubt be returning to on a regular basis in the coming months. 

Review by Declan Culliton

John Jenkins and the James Street Band Looking For That American Dream Self Release

John Jenkins is a singer-songwriter who resides in Liverpool and has a number of albums to his name. The James Street Band include Denis Parkinson (guitars and vocals), David Nixon (harmonica, percussion and vocals), Dave Orford (drums and vocals), Steve Atkinson (bass), Lee Warren Shone (keyboards), with Jenkins contributing guitar, keyboards and vocals. As a veteran of many years in the business and different bands, Jenkins knows his way around a studio and this release is testament to his writing skills and his co-production, with Jon Lawton, at the helm.

This release dates back to June 2019 but is only reaching me now – better late than never. The 13 songs are very engaging and the ensemble play with great colour and range, abetted by an additional eight musicians who visited the studio to augment the overall sound (four backing vocalists, plus added instruments like banjo, keyboards). 

Roundabout is a great song and instantly recognisable as a wry look at time-pressured couples, holding down two jobs and trying to get by. Ghost in the Bar rocks out in style and the Sam Cooke tribute is just that; a love letter to a golden voice of the past. Can You Hear Me? Is written in memory of his Dad and The Forgotten Man is something that I don’t believe could ever be said of this talented musician who creates easy on the ear, melodic music that never fails to please. 

Review by Paul McGee

Michael McMillan Missing Person Self Release

This is the fifth album of gentle songs, sweetly sung, by a musician who has been releasing music since his debut in 2007. He writes from the heart and uses true life stories as the inspiration for many of the songs. There is a knowing melancholia in tracks like The Only Word, So Many Thorns and A Better Place but there is an important message to us all in remembering the marginalised and the lost in society.

McMillan composes in a very direct and honest manner, never afraid to call it like he sees it – with plenty of loving awareness in his words along the way. As he says in the liner notes, “While you are waiting for your miracle, be a miracle for someone else.” Wait For Me is a poignant tale of a deceased partner and the grief left behind while, You Are, is a tribute song to a loved one who brings light and happiness.

The album was recorded at EssGee Studios in Glasgow with the talents of Sam Gallagher who both produced and contributed as a musician to the project. McMillan wrote all twelve tracks and with no information regarding other players on the album, I have to assume that both musicians played the majority of the instruments featured. Worthy of your time.

Review by Paul McGee

John Bowman The Hole Mountain Home

This 6 song EP from John Bowman is a wonderful example of gospel music that can also appeal to non-religious country and bluegrass fans. John Bowman is a graduate of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver, Alison Krauss’s Union Station, JD Crowe’s New South, The Isaacs and The Boxcars. Now a full time preacher and solo performer, he has collaborated here with five other top musician friends on the six well chosen story songs. Kicking off at breathtaking pace with You Ought’ve Been There (Johnny Run The Pews), it is obvious from the start that Bowman has a deep love of country gospel. 

This storm burner was written by family gospel trio The Easter Brothers from NC, and Bowman goes all honky tonk on it, with fabulous electric guitar playing from Kelly Back and rip roaring dobro from Josh Swift (Doyle Lawson). The Hole will be well known from an early Randy Travis record - here Bowman has the vocal capacity to take on this classic, helped by the  outstanding piano playing of Gordon Mote and by Mike Rogers on drums. Silverthorn Mountain, from the pen of Merle Haggard, is an outright bluegrass number, and it’s got Aubrie Haynie’s fiddle all over it. Playing mostly acoustic guitar throughout, Bowman takes out the banjo for the closing song I’ll Talk It All Over With Him, which he would have played many times with JD Crowe. Don’t be put off by the rather macabre cover photo depicting the feet and shovel of a man digging a grave - this album is highly recommended and guaranteed to uplift!

Review by Eilís Boland

The Grascals Straighten The Curves Mountain Home

Favourites of Dolly Parton, who used them as her backing band for several years, The Grascals have been one of the most successful bands on the bluegrass circuit since their formation in 2004. They have been awarded a total of a whopping 38 mainly instrumental awards (individually or as a band) from the IBMA and SPGMA, and have guested on the Grand Ole Opry many times.

The title track, penned by Chris Coole of The Lonesome Ace Stringband, is a superb example of the genre - a song to drive to - with star turns from each of the six band members. The equally catchy driving song, Driving my Life Away, is a revival of the Eddie Rabbitt country hit song from 1975, and here the banjo playing of Kristin Scott Benson provides the grooving rhythm alongside founding member Terry Smith on bass. Newest member Chris Davis (guitar) takes lead vocals on his well crafted song Don’t Leave Your Memory Behind, enhanced by the sweet fiddle playing of Adam Haynes, who is an alumnus of several top bands including The James King Band and Dailey & Vincent. Larry Cordle’s song Callin’ Your Name is given a new outing and Becky Bulller contributes the traditional themed My Virginia Mama. Danny Roberts (mandolin) wrote the only instrumental, Andi Wayne, and Terry Smith co-wrote Who Needs You. Some of the other song choices are slightly bewildering given the standard of the writing, however there is enough good material here to satisfy the hard core bluegrass fan.

Review by Eilís Boland

Josh Rennie-Hynes Patterns Self Release

Born in Australia and now living in Nashville, this musician found fame as part of The Ahern Brothers who previously released two well received albums of folk-based songs to great acclaim. 

With the twelve songs featured here Rennie-Hynes booked studio time at the Sound Emporium in Nashville and enlisted producer Alex Munoz to create the magic at the controls. Munoz also contributed various guitar parts to the songs with electric,12-string, baritone and lap steel all featuring. Rennie-Hynes plays guitar and harmonica and sings in a voice that has a plaintive tone, well suited to the dream like sounds of Chapter, Caught In A Dream, Borrowing Time and Ghosts (with superb violin from Kristin Weber).

There is a rock-oriented sound to the album with lush guitars, swirling keyboards, pulsing bass lines and driving percussion on a number of songs. The simple arrangement on Stay is a change in style and shows a more rootsy side to this talent and perhaps a direction he will focus on as he grows into his career over the coming years. 

Pieces has an early Springsteen groove to the arrangement and the laid-back delivery is very appealing on a number of different levels, head, heart and hips. Equally, All Of Me has the strut of early Tom Petty with attitude to match. Hold Out My Hand and High Road both have all the hallmarks of an Americana radio hit and are songs that highlight the excellent bass playing of Christopher Griffiths, who together with Allen Jones on drums and percussion, anchor all of these tracks in a steady and often creative style of playing. Micah Hulscher provides plenty of colour on organ, piano and synths to the tracks and Erin Rae delivers vocals on the final song, Home To You, which is a stripped back acoustic love song. 

Coming in at 50 minutes of listening time, this is a confident statement from an artist who wants to be recognised for the talent that he clearly displays across these songs. Something tells me that we will be hearing more form him in the future.

Review by Paul McGee

Rott’n Dan and Lightnin’ Willy Self-Titled DMA

Rott’n Dan and the Lightnin’ Willy are an acoustic duo who play a style of Country Blues that conjures up images of the old days when the roots of traditional music were being planted deep into the ground. The timeless nature of acoustic blues over the generations is not in question and these two Canadian artists certainly honour the tradition on this debut album.

As a side project, Rott’n Dan and Lightnin’ Willy certainly put a lot of love and affection into these ten songs, with the finger picking guitar style of Lightnin’ Willy (Willy Ryan) perfectly in balance with the creative riffing of Rott’n Dan (Dan Shinnan) on harmonica. They both sing to augment these stripped down, rhythmic tunes and the overall effect is both authentic and impressive.

There are five original tracks that sit very well alongside covers of old artists such as Mississippi John Hurt (I’m Satisfied), Arthur “Blind” Blake (You Gonna Quit Me Blues), Blind Willie McTell (Delia), Sonny Boy Williamson (Good Gravy). The songs that are penned by the duo are very much of the same backyard as these standards and the superb Ragtime sound of My Belle is followed by the Delta groove of Coliseum Station Blues, both displaying playing skills of the highest order. There is a terrific instrumental version of Mercedes Benz (Janis Joplin, Michael McClure, Bob Neuwirth) to bring matters to a close and this is old time roots music which helps you reconnect with what is important in our collective listening experience. It feels grounded, real and quite rightly, a highly recommended purchase.

Review by Paul McGee

Edward Abbiati Beat The Night Self Release

Abbiati is best known as the front man in LOWLANDS, an Americana band that released a number of excellent albums since their debut back in 2008. Here, on his debut solo record, he has collaborated with Mike ‘Slo Mo’ Brenner (Marah, Magnolia Electric Co.) and Chris Pleet to produce a ten-song album that reflects upon a life-changing experience and which delivers some beautifully realised songs touching on mortality, dark days of fear and hope for the future.

What was to be a solo, acoustic record quickly turned onto a full collective experience with Joey Huffman (Soul Asylum, Georgia Satellites), plus Joe Barreca and Jimmy Ragazzon of the Mandolin Bros being joined by Michele Gazich (Mary Gauthier’s violin player), Italian cello virtuoso Simona Colonna, session bassist Antonio ‘Rigo’ Righetti and Lowlands’ keyboardist Francesco Bonfiglio. Others to climb aboard were former bandmate Stiv Cantarelli and David Henry (Yo la Tengo, Matthew Ryan, Rod Picott), who added strings. 

The whole project was recorded over a few weeks in Cava Manara, Pavia, Italy and the ensemble playing is quite superb throughout. Reminiscent of early Green On Red or Richmond Fontaine, these very personal songs of facing down serious illness are quite clearly cathartic for all involved. 

Tracks like I Got Hurt, Hold Me Tight and In Harm’s Way tell the story of Abbiati’s near death experience, underpinned by the restrained playing of, in turn, Brenner on lap steel, Colonna on cello and Gazich on violin. Three Times Lucky is dedicated to his new daughter, Sofia, with the hope and joy she brings for the future. Worth checking out Folks.

Review by Paul McGee

Norma Mac Donald Old Future Noyes 

The title says it all. Norma Mac Donald’s fifth album sounds like it could have been recorded fifty years ago. The Halifax, Nova Scotia resident's last release BURN THE TAPES, was nominated as Americana/Bluegrass Album Of The Year by Music Nova Scotia, and OLD FUTURE could most likely earn similar accolades.

It’s an impressive exercise in keeping things simple and to the point. Strong songs, quality playing and MacDonald’s classic country vocals all excel across the ten tracks. She co-produced the album alongside Dale Murray, who is credited with playing guitars, pedal steel, piano, organ, percussion and bass, together with adding backing vocals.

Essentially a country album in the true sense, it does dip slightly into pop territory on occasions, Trick Of The Light and Temperamental Year being two examples. However, the stand out tracks are pure unadulterated country, delivered by an artist blessed with a simply gorgeous vocal ability. Your Wedding Day (tears on her ex-husbands wedding day) and Some Days sound like country standards you’re convinced you’ve heard before, uplifting pedal steel featuring on both tracks. The latter, a reminder in difficult times of better times on the horizon, includes the line “Some nights you die a slow death by nostalgia.” MacDonald had intended to name the album ‘Death by Nostalgia’, before being convinced by others to reconsider. One Man Band, the first single from the album, is a stripped back affair, impeccable vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar and gentle strings all amount to a beguiling and soothing listen.

 The album is indeed nostalgic but in a positive way. Impressively packaged and with the lyrics displayed in the inner sleeve, it circles back to a sound more celebrated in the 1960’s and is a delightful journey down memory lane from start to finish. Simply gorgeous.

Review by Declan Culliton

Miss Tess The Moon Is An Ashtray Rights

Miss Tess is a member of the growing community of talented female artists residing in Nashville. In a similar vein to her peers, she is delivering music from the other side of the track, unlike the often-insipid pop country emanating from Music Row. She has enjoyed a fairly nomadic lifestyle and the influence of time spent in Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn and Nashville are all evident in her music. Her sound is somewhat more left-field than many of her contemporaries, dipping into rockabilly, jazz and blues alongside her retro country leanings.

THE MOON IS AN ASHTRAY is a continuation of her fascination with the sounds and styles of yesterday. Testament to this are both the album’s cover photo and the use in the recording of her trusty 1930’s Weymann Archtop guitar. The title track also pays homage to bygone times. It’s a sultry, slow burning affair which overlaps jazz with country vibes. Gamblin’ Man offers a spikey machine gun vocal delivery - her neighbour Aaron Lee Tasjan comes to mind - complete with a Dr. Feelgood sounding rhythm section. If Western Swing rocks your boat, you’ll be well impressed by I Wanna Be A Cowboy, it’s a piano led number that features Tess yodelling to good effect. The retro sound also features in the standout If You Don’t Know How To Love Me, an old school country affair which combines smoky vocals and wailing pedal steel guitar. One Little Kiss and Human Being are instantly catchy pop melodies, before she swings the album to a close with the laid back and jazzy Riverboat Song.

Recorded at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, the production was a three-way affair between Tess, her bandmate and musical partner Thomas Bryan Eaton and Andrija Tokic (Hurray For The Riff Raff, Alabama Shakes). They certainly succeeded in capturing a timeless and absorbing essence across a most impressive album.

Review by Declan Culliton

Sarah Peacock Burn The Witch Road Dog

That Sarah Peacock is acutely aware of what is happening around her now and what has happened to many people in the past is evident by the title and lead track on this new album, her eight. She is no stranger to this particular game and continues to define her craft and creativity through it. It is an album that sets out a canvas on which she can paint her stories that are as much about attitudes and social change as they are about personal change. That includes having a fire on her tour bus back in 2016 that destroyed everything on board and in its aftermath having the chance to revaluate her role. She came to realise that her music had made an impact on those who listened to and loved her work and who encouraged her to continue. This new album is the end result of that period of reflection and reinvigoration. 

The album opens with guitar and electronic sound and Peacock’s convincing voice on the title song that immediately makes an impact as the song relates back to the hypocrisy and horror of the Salem Witch Trials in Salem in 1692. Keep Quiet follows in a similar style, questioning the reasons people are often afraid to speak out. Mojave compares a person “lost in the wasteland of an empty heart” and of that arid desert. A sense of place is also central to Colorado. These songs like many here are wound around a deep sense of melody, delivered through provoking lyrics and a vital voice. There are songs that seek the higher ground such as The One and Take You High. These sit beside the outsider consideration of one who sees the world as the domain of The Cool Kids who bullied at school but ultimately are the ones deserving of pity. That sense of openness and understanding is prevalent throughout the album. Peacock has struggled with combining faith and being openly gay and seeing how those often seemingly opposite viewpoints are not so for many people worldwide. Peacock wrote all the songs here, either solo or with a number of like-minded co-writers.

The album was recorded, produced and mixed in Nashville by Shawn Byrne. He also added guitars, percussion and backing vocals. Over this base was the largely understated but highly effective contributions of Adam Ollendorff on pedal steel, John Henry Trinko’s keyboards, Brian Sutherland on cello and Michael Lucarelli’s strings. A tightly focused sound that is genre non-specific and a product of a wide range of musical influences and life experiences that make BURN THE WITCH an album that should take Peacock to another level and to a wider audience. She is certainly worthy of it with this accomplished and life affirming music that she simply wants her fans to hold her in their hearts.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Hoth Brothers Workin’ And Dreamin’ Self Release

In the best tradition of such named bands Bard Edrington V, Boris McCutcheon and Sarah Ferrell are neither brothers or all boys! What they are is a set of musicians who take their acoustic based music and give it a contemporary shake. They are joined here by Greg Williams whose drumming adds a lot of energy and pulse to the songs. There are some additional voices added to fill out on a couple of songs but as all the principle players are also vocalists, that side of things is well catered for. The song writing is either by Edrington or McCutcheon together or individually. The sixteen tracks and an hour plus running time is generous and they try to bring some variation to the acoustic formula. They share vocals throughout the album with either Edrington or McCutcheon taking the lead for the most point and the others adding harmonies. This will appeal to fans of old time and bluegrass music with the banjo well to the fore in the sound. They also add some electric and baritone guitars to expand the acoustic nature of the songs.

Nature, at a glance of the titles, is a topic to their worldview and lifestyle - Trees Of Heaven, Singing Grass, Flint Hills, Horses Are Made Of Wind and Bitter Frost are a selection of the titles that reference that viewpoint. Some of the songs work strongly in the stripped back setting such as Singing Grass and O Birds Still Sing. There is a different tone to Rendezvous Duel which has a ‘western’ feel to its sense of desperation and murder. Chili Line has a strong vocal chorus that sings of wishing to be transported to a different time over a jaunty beat and a banjo melody. A theme that also is at the heart of the river riding tale of Wild Robby. January gets some bad press in the song of that title. It features some electric guitar along with effective intertwined vocals in its underlining denouncement of the inauguration of the current president and his fractured administration.

There is a sense that this band of brothers have a deep love of the past and for history but intend to deliver their music with a spirit that is very much of the now. Despite that it may be a little archaic for some ears but that would be their loss, as this is music for all ages. It offers a number of highlights including the song Balancing Act, which is something of a statement of intent for the Hoth Brothers who add that sense of earth with a strong sting in the tail of those who wish to own and control it. Meantime these folks will keep workin’ and dreamin’ for better times.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Albums - New Reviews

The Marshall Tucker Band New Year’s In New Orleans Roll Up ’78 and Light Up ’79!  MT Industries

Recorded at the legendary Warehouse venue in New Orleans, which held an audience of 2,000+ on a regular basis, this 2-CD set of a live concert was broadcast to the American nation on New Year’s Eve 1978. The original recording was captured on two 24-track tape machines and it was mixed by original producer Paul Hornsby who not only worked with the band on the early Capricorn Record releases but also sat in on keyboards, organ and piano in the studio. 

The band was comprised of Doug Gray (vocals), Toy Caldwell (guitar/vocals), Tommy Caldwell (bass/vocals), George McCorkle (guitar), Paul Riddle (drums), and Jerry Eubanks (flute/sax/vocals). Their Southern rock sound was augmented by the use of flute and horns, giving the band an eclectic sound when compared to rival acts at the time, such as the Allman Brothers, the Outlaws or Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Disc One is just shy of 70 minutes in length and is packed with great guitar driven dynamics across the twelve tracks, all of which are taken from the band’s first seven releases. Included are old favourites Blue Ridge Mountain Skies, Hillbilly Band, Fire On The Mountain, Long Hard Ride, Fly Like An Eagle, Ramblin’ and an extended jam on 24 Hours At A Time.

Disc Two is much shorter at 24 minutes, but given that it concentrates on the end of the show, when the New Year was about to be celebrated, this is entirely understandable. Included in the New Year’s countdown is a rousing Auld Lang Syne, with proceedings ending on a thoroughly joyous version of the traditional song, Will The Circle Be Unbroken.

This original band broke up in 1983 so this live recording is a unique opportunity to catch them at the peak of their powers. The fluid guitar work of Toy Caldwell is always a delight and his duelling with Jerry Eubanks on flute and sax is always inventive and leans towards jazz-based workouts on a number of occasions. Doug Gray sounds somewhat hoarse on some of the early tracks, something he declares later into the set, but it never takes away from the quality of the songs and the four-part vocals from the band are always very engaging. The band play with an understanding that only years of touring America can bring and the interplay is really enjoyable. If you want to take a trip down the nostalgia highway and indulge yourself in a sound that matched the Allman Brothers in quality then this is certainly the release for you. A memorable night indeed.

Review by Paul McGee

Dave Vargo Spaces In Between Self Release

Having graduated with honours from the Berklee College of Music and acting as a session player for many different artists over a period of years, Dave Vargo decided to take a career turn and focus on his own vision and innate skills. He released his debut album in 2016 and this experienced and highly talented musician returned with this second outing in the latter part of 2019. 

This release is another fine example of his prowess, both as a musician and a songwriter. He pushes towards a big guitar sound with strong melodies and great hooks, something that builds upon his studio synergy with Tim Pannella, his co-producer and contributor on drums and percussion. The sound is really bright and airy, with lots of space for the arrangements and melodies to breathe.

Call it Americana, but it is really more a definitive statement by a singular talent who is exploring his boundaries as both a guitar specialist and a songsmith. The focus for the eleven songs would appear to centre around the personal struggles we all face in life and the challenges to keep going through the fog in search of direction. Opening with the fluid guitar lines of This Moment On and a message of ‘day at a time’ and optimism for the future, the following Without A Fight is a search for meaning and reasons to keep moving forward, all wrapped in an inventive guitar solo.

And on it goes, with each track revealing more superb dynamics in the tempo and guitar parts. Battle Burns looks at the scars that living brings and searching for new opportunity while In Between reflects on relationship woes and the differences between lovers. Tracks is an acoustic number that slows everything down in examining the past and the memory of choices made. Nowhere Else is another reflective song with great guitar and a hint at running from yourself as some kind of skewed answer. Some of the songs have the vocal somewhat dampened in the heady mix and it can be difficult to catch the words, something of a drawback when you are looking for the songs lyrical meaning. However, this is a small issue in the overall sense of listening to something that is alive and vibrant. 

The backing vocals of Audra Mariel are really excellent and add a lot to the harmonies and the colour of the arrangements, while Jeffrey Thompsen plays superbly on bass. Kim Boyko sings backing vocals on two tracks and Dan Haase adds his talents, playing bass on another two tracks. The closing song, Not Alone, sums up the message that there is always a way to find the light and to look for meaning. A very impressive album and one that comes recommended.

Review by Paul McGee

Watermelon Slim Traveling Man Northernblues

You have to go way back to 1973 in order to track the career of this blues legend. In that year, Slim released an anti-Vietnam album called MERRY AIRBRAKES, as a military veteran and a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Move forward into a blue-collar life of various jobs, including forklift driver, funeral officiator, small-time criminal, newspaper reporter, saw miller, and truck driver for industrial waste, among others, and you are faced with someone who has walked the walk and talked the talk. 

In 1979, he bought a piece of land and took up watermelon farming. The vocation was not one he embraced but his nickname stuck and he went on to start a career as a blues/roots musician that has taken him into the hearts of many. In 2003, he released BIG SHOES TO FILL and his career trajectory just took off from that moment towards the status that he now holds as the definitive Mississippi Delta player of these times.

These two discs total 98 minutes and 18 tracks, featuring Slim on vocals, harmonica and electric slide guitar. Long-time friend, Chris Hardwick, is again at the production controls and there are two gigs included across a few months in 2016 at Oklahoma venues.  You might wonder if the music gets to sound somewhat repetitive, given that it is just one player, over a lengthy set, but the dynamic throughout is timeless and you just slip into a slow groove along with the essence of this pure form of musical expression. The harmonic precision of voice and guitar are perfectly aligned as Slim plays his unique, backwards style of bottleneck slide.

Slim grew up in Boston and he was christened William Homans III, a name that now only appears on his song-writing credits. Indeed, the eleven albums that he has released are all honoured for their authenticity and he has been the recipient of multiple awards for his output. Eight of those records are represented here, in a set that includes seven cover songs.

The album that features most is UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL (2004) with six tracks included, among them Smokestack Lightning (Howlin’ Wolf) and Two Trains Running (Muddy Waters). We also get Blue Freightliner, Scalemaster Blues, Archetypal Blues and The Last Blues.  There are four tracks featured from the Watermelon Slim and the Workers releases, one of his projects along the path, and Jimmy Bell, Into The Sunset, Devil’s Cadillac and Frisco Line all hit the sweet spot.

His most recent albums also feature with GOLDEN BOY (2017) contributing Dark Genius and Northern Blues while CHURCH OF THE BLUES (2019) has 61 Highway Blues and Holler #4 included. This is absolute immersion in the root of all music, given that bluegrass, country, jazz, jug band, ragtime, rhythm ’n’ blues, rock ’n’ roll, all could be said to evolve from this original source.

During the live performance, you can hear him urge “play that thing now” on a number of occasions, as if summoning up the energy to carry on, at the age of 70 years. However, as he represents the true face of blues music - this is the real deal, no chaser. Get on the train.

Review by Paul McGee

Drew Holcomb and the Neighbours Dragons Self-Titled Thirty Tigers

Family is a theme that runs through this eight studio release and Family is the opening track with an addictive hand-clap beat, salsa rhythm and upbeat groove setting a standard for the rest of the ten tracks to meet. End Of The World follows in a similar vein with a rootsy, radio friendly tempo and a big drum sound that kicks ass. For a band that started life back in 2005 with their debut release, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbours has fared better than most in the stormy seas of the music industry over the intervening years. 

It is to his credit that he has never compromised on self-belief and songs like But I’ll Never Forget The Way You Make Me Feel (featuring wife, Ellie Holcomb) bring us back to the beginning with a promise to remember the good memories of younger days. Title track, Dragons, features the Lone Bellow and is a statement to live life large against all the doubts and fears that may arise along the way. See The World, again with wife Ellie on vocals, is a great reminder of all that really matters is Family and the joy of a new life in the World.

Nathan Dugger (multi-instruments) and Rich Brinsfield (various bass and acoustic guitar) remain from the original band and are joined by Will Sayles (drums, percussion) and Cason Cooley (piano, synths) who also engineered and produced the project. Holcomb takes lead vocal and plays guitar and wrote all the songs, including five co-writes. You Want What You Can’t Have features Lori McKenna and looks at our unease and always looking at the other man’s grass and assuming it’s greener. The track, Maybe, features Natalie Hemby (The Highwomen) with a message that “Maybe we’re lost in what we want, not what we need.”

You Never Leave My Heart is a tribute to his brother, who died from spina bifida complications as a teenager and the song has a strong lyric and a soaring arrangement. Bittersweet takes a look at the roles we adopt in life and how it all passes so quickly, “You better take a picture, you better write it down, What you always wanted, won’t always be around.” Another excellent chapter in the ongoing story of an artist who follows is own vision.

Review by Paul McGee

The Remedy Club True Hand True Heart High Flying Disc 

LOVERS, LEGENDS & LOST CAUSES, released in 2017, was the first instalment in the career remodelling of husband and wife team Aileen Mythen and Kj Mc Evoy. Having recorded two albums previously as B and The Honeyboy they regrouped as The Remedy Club. The change in name did not spell a dramatic migration from their musical style, more so a new start with a blank canvas and a determination to prevail in an increasingly difficult marketplace.

That debut album was recorded locally but mastered by Ray Kennedy at his Room and Board Studio in Berry Hill, Nashville. This time around they have gone one step further by packing their bags for Music City to record TRUE HAND TRUE HEART at that same studio. The production was overseen by Kennedy, whose accolades include 5 Grammy Awards, one of which he won for Steve Earle’s excellent THE REVOLUTION STARTS…. NOW. I’m reminded of the production on that album on The Remedy Club’s latest, which is similarly loaded with positive energy and is a considered mix of roots and country with a splash of blues on the side.

The album kicks off in fine style with the raucous Sweet Symphony. The track is very much where Lucinda Williams’ energy is at present with a power house sound and compelling beat - it’s also the first single from the album. Reclaim is an immense and muscular sound, with Mythen’s booming vocals reaching glass breaking levels and Mc Evoy’s screeching guitar not far behind. The title track has a rolling blues tinged sound, fleshed out by some slick guitar riffs and razor-sharp harmonica bursts. Nonetheless, it’s not all fire and brimstone and the album also delivers songs that console and soothe, with Mythen displaying the ability to do quiet every bit as well as hell raising. Let The Good Times Roll is a wistful conventional country song and Time Won’t Wait For Me is simply divine, as impressive a ballad as I’ve heard this year. Mournful pedal steel from David Murphy features on both of these tracks.

The Remedy Club’s prized assets are a combination of Mythen’s gorgeous vocals and Mc Evoy’s guitar skills. Both are in evidence here alongside well-crafted songs and great harmonies from the duo.  They’ve poured their hearts and souls into this recording and the results are a hugely convincing album that should further enhance their fast-growing reputation both locally and farther afield. A brooding masterclass in Americana from Wexford via Nashville and one that you’re well advised to investigate.

Review by Declan Culliton

Kevin Anthony & G-Town Eh Ha Ha  - A Tribute To The Original Cajun Fiddle Of Harry Choates Self Release

Country music historians will be more than familiar with the name Harry Choates.  The master of Texas Swing and Cajun music, Choates was renowned for both his full-on fiddle playing and his equally rampant hard living. A household name in Texas, he seldom ventured outside Texas and Louisiana, spending his all too short career playing the dance halls, bars and honky tonks mainly along the Texas coastline. With a somewhat similar early career to Hank Williams, he cut his teeth in his early teens playing barber shops for tips before reaching the age at which he could legally perform professionally. He passed away in an Austin jail at the age of 28, from alcohol burnout.

His legend is honoured in this fourteen-track tribute recorded at Sugar Hill Studios, formerly Gold Star Records, where Choates had himself recorded. Lost Bayou Rambler’s fiddle player and vocalist Louis Michot was in control of production, with Kevin Anthony playing fiddle and adding vocals. They successfully managed to capture the atmosphere and turbulence of a live Coates show on the album. The G-Town musicians are Christopher Smith Gonzalez on bass, Dwight Wolf on guitar, Jim Hall on steel guitar and Nicole Mendell on drums.

They combined to generate a toe tapping compound of western swing, Cajun, Zydeco, rockabilly and old school country. Particularly notable are Jole Blon, Harry Choates Blues and Louisiana Boogie but in essence the album is a good time listen from start to finish.

Review by Declan Culliton

Matt Harlan Best Beasts Continental Song City

A winner of the title Singer/Songwriter of The Year in the Texas Music Awards in 2013, Houston born Matt Harlan shares a gift with many of his fellow Texans songsmiths. He’s equipped with the ability to create musical landscapes from simple everyday occurrences and his latest release is further proof of his talents.  Current political events in America have been the catalyst for numerous recordings across varying music styles of late and that theme is central to much of the writing on BEST BEASTS. It’s his fifth recording and a mixture of laidback ballads alongside some cracking upbeat offerings. You get value for your money also, with no fewer than thirteen tracks, five of which include female vocalists (Betty Boo, Libby Koch and Kelley Mickwee) backing Harlan to particularly good effect.

The characters he creates across the album are a collection of typically ordinary people, trying to survive with the odds stacked heavily against them. “We’re just trying to be the best beasts we can be”, he announces on the title track and the album’s tour de force. A crunching rhythm drives the track along, screeching guitars, thumping bass lines and layered vocals combining to maximum effect.

Darla Mae, checking in at six minutes, is by far the longest track and a lovely listen that brings to mind Robert Earl Keen. What We Saw pulls no punches as Harlan considers all too familiar anxieties and concerns (‘Teachers left wondering, what’s that I hear down the hall’ and ‘Living high on the gun and getting low on the floor’). K&W is a killer country duet of a ruined relationship, with the previously noted (and member of The Trishas) Kelley Mickwee strikingly trading vocals with Harlan.

Low Pressure would sit comfortably on any Warren Zevon album and Gemini Blues offers a rich funky groove with impressive keyboard breaks and splashes of trumpet. The album closes on a realistic rather than sanguine note, the song Another Bad Day emphasising the hopelessness of the cast that populate the songs that went beforehand.

Review by Declan Culliton

Patsy Thompson Fabulous Day Self Release

This album appears to be something of a return to duty for the Canadian-born singer. Something that is apparent from the opening title song. The impetus for this would appear to be Chris Rolin, who produced and played guitar on the album. He also co-writes with Thompson (on four songs) who herself had a hand in writing all but one of the 10 featured tracks. They are number of influences here that she has drawn from, from Patsy Cline to Aretha Franklin and Merle Haggard to Bob Seger. Thompson’s career began in the 1990’s where she spent time in Austin but it was interrupted when she took time out to take care of her mother. Understandably, there is a passion and presence here in her vocal delivery - her seventh album - from the full-on opening track to a more bluesy take on Dreamin’.

Rolin has rolled a number of noted players in to track these songs including Redd Volkert on guitar and Bruce Bouton on steel guitar. This is not old school country/honky tonk nor is it falling into the current overproduced pop country, but rather something more classic in feel and genre crossing than fitting any exact category. Something that Americana seems to be the overall umbrella tag for these days.

The one outside song, recorded by Merle Haggard, Misery And Gin highlights a mature arrangement and the wide range of her vocal ability. The song that worked best for me here is the self written Passion. It includes a nice use of the accordion to give it a different feel along, with some violin and Spanish guitar. Most of the tracks cover her experiences and those ups and downs that life has to offer. Someone To Blame is a fair example of this train of thought. The album closes with I Think About You a big sounding song with old school harmonies and some nice twang guitar that sound like a welcome throwback to another era but a welcome one.

FABULOUS DAY will be a welcome return to those acquainted with Patsy Thompson. It may not suit everyone’s taste but is the work of an artist, singer and songwriter who still has a lot to give overall.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Jesse Daniel Rollin’ On Die True

With his second album Jesse Daniel has raised the stakes in terms of production values and songwriting. From the get go, this is a prime example of what contemporary country should be. It picks up on the West Coast Bakerfield sound without actually aping any particular artist. From listening to some of his favourite performers, like Jim Lauderdale, he was particularly taken with the sound of those produced by Tommy Detamore and so reached out to him to work on this album. Detamore came onboard and the result is a killer album of hardcore country that from its cover on, wears its heart on its sleeve. 

Daniel co-produced the album together and recorded in Detamore’s studio in Floresville, Texas where they gathered together some of the best and most in tune players around. The rhythm section is Tom Lewis on drums and Kevin Smith on bass, with T Jarod Bonta on piano, Hank Singer and Bobby Flores on fiddle as well as John Carroll on lead guitar and contributions by Micheal Guerra on accordion. Detamore played his customary exemplary pedal steel. Daniel’s partner and manager and sometimes co-writer Jodi Lyford has added enticing harmony vocals, while Daniel played acoustic and electric guitars. A potent combination as this release testifies to and is underlined by the skill set on display throughout but more apparent in the instrumental Chickadee.

Having endured a background of addiction and an unsettled upbringing, Daniel knows how to bring some real emotion and true-life messages to his writing. Nevertheless, it is not in any way a hard listen, as Daniel has a knack for a hook and melody that makes these songs sound exuberant and fresh. Daniel has seen this album as an opportunity to move ahead and away from any ties that bound him in the past. A time to be rollin’ on and discovering free skies, new experiences and open roads.

Therefore, it is logical that the road Daniel was on is reflected in the songs on the album. Champion is a story song that views life from a particular perspective of the addict and those people encountered while leading that life. That darker side sits alongside other cuts like Bringing Home The Roses wherein the flowers are meant as a peace offering from a serial barroom-inhabiting offender. Old At Heart is about a performer playing small venues to little or no response, but who on occasions becomes someone else through the music - something that keeps him, a young man old at heart. There isn’t a track here that doesn’t fit the parameters of country music in one form or another and Daniel has written all 12 songs here, 6 with Jodi Lyford and one with McCoy Tyler. This is an album that will take you on a journey - either in isolation or out on the open road.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Albums - New Reviews

Sam Doores Self-Titled New West

A former member of Hurray For The Riff Raff and current player with The Deslondes, Sam Doores' self-titled solo album was recorded at three locations. Berlin, his current home Nashville and his previous residence, New Orleans were all visited during the recording process. Both bands previously noted are outstanding providers of experimental folk music incorporating elements of jazz, rhythm & blues together with traditional American music to stunning effect. Those musical components are seldom far from the surface here, the contrast being that the material is drawn from more intimate and personal life experiences and is therefore more appropriate to a solo album.

The Berlin connection came about when producer Anders Ormen Christopherson discovered the New Orleans band Sundown Songs, of which Doores was a member, alongside Alynda Segarra and Pat Reedy. Christopherson was opening a studio in Berlin and invited Doores to drop by the next time he was in Europe. At the tail end of a tour in Europe with The Deslondes, Doores arranged to spend a week in Berlin and spent time in the studio recording songs for this album. Future visits to Berlin in the following few years, while on tour in Europe, led to further recordings at the studio. Doores brought the bones of the album back from Berlin to both Nashville - under the watchful eye of producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Phosphorescent, Hurrah For The Riff Raff) and New Orleans, to apply the finishing touches. Two particular occurrences were significant in triggering the completion of the album: a long-term relationship had run its course, and The Delondes were taking time out, giving Doores both the ingredients and the space to work with.

Self-examination is the overriding theme throughout. Violins, piano and organ feature on the plaintive instrumental opener Tempehofer. Doores waves farewell to his former lover on Wish You Well and a similar sense of loss and isolation raises its head on Other Side Of Town, his former bandmate in HFTRR Aylnda Segarra sharing lead vocal on the latter. This Ain’t A Sad Song, as the name implies, is more about looking forward than backwards. An immediately catchy song, it features a host of background vocalists including Margo Price. Equally striking are the spectral Nothing Like A Suburb and the funky and razor-sharp Solid Road.

The New Orleans trade mark concoction of blues, country, doo-wop and jazz is conspicuous across much of the album, emphasised by the wide range of instrumentation that feature. All manner of brass instruments are used alongside vibraphones, marimbas, organs and strings.

Hurray For The Riff Raff and The Deslondes both deliver a quite unique and bohemian sound, a breath of fresh air in most cases. Thankfully, Doores hasn’t strayed too far from that delightful musical template with his own excursions into doo wop, country and jazz tinted swampy blues, on this avant-garde and broody delight.

Review by Declan Culliton

Letitia Van Sant Circadian LVR

The 2018 debut recording GUT IT TO THE STUDS from Baltimore’s Letitia Van Sant left quite an impression on us at Lonesome Highway. She shares the honour, with Lucinda Williams and Nanci Griffith, of winning the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition, which is some achievement given the calibre of artist competing for that coveted distinction. It’s not difficult to appreciate how her writing could merit such an award on the basis of her lyrics on CIRCADIAN. The album is a continuation of the musical path explored by Van Sant on her debut release, though with a somewhat fuller sound.  Best described as folk - but with the boundaries pushed out to the fullest extent - the album offers unhurried and patient songs that tackle heavy topics full on.

As the title suggests the album explores everyday occurrences in the real world.  Her vocals feature a to-die-for accented drawl, as she fearlessly narrates tales of broken relationships, child abuse, mental illness and defiance.  The listener is left in little doubt about her mood from the word go. She’s spitting fire on the album's opener You Can’t Put My Fire Out as she declares ‘I taste your words inside my mouth, like broken glass I spit them out, I’m the one who’s speaking now, you can’t put my fire out.’  The lyrics are directed at Brett Kavanaugh, accused of sexual misconduct during a Senate hearing to appoint him as a Supreme Court Judge. The song could equally and justifiably be aimed at a controlling ex-partner. Mental illness and its knock-on effects are highlighted on Tin Man, which addresses a partner’s struggle with the abuse acted on him by his father while growing up. A similar topic of despondency is presented in Most Of Our Dreams Don’t Come True as the central character struggles in the aftermath of the loss of a stillborn baby. Spilt Milk speaks of unappreciated love in a relationship, regrettably not returned.

She gathered together a most impressive line-up for the recording, which was completed over a few days at Neilson Hubbard’s home-made Skinny Elephant Studios in Nashville. Hubbard is very much the ‘go to’ guy these days for Americana acts, having worked in recent years with artists such Mary Gauthier, Ben Glover, Ryan Culwell, Kim Richey and Caroline Spence. She also engaged some of the finest players in Nashville including Will Kimbrough on guitar and mandolin, and Michael Rinne on bass guitar. As you would expect from those contributors, the playing throughout is superb, complementing Van Sant’s vocals. For the most part the tracks are slow burning and disciplined, though she and her players let rip on the album's closing and possibly strongest track Rising Tide. That song is an attack on the vile treatment of servicemen and ex-military.

A hugely impressive album that literally stopped me in my tracks and one well worth checking out.

Review by Declan Culliton

Cup O’Joe In The Parting Self Release

At long last, the Agnew family trio from Co Armagh have released their first full length album. It feels like the siblings have been gigging around their native Northern Ireland and further afield for years, but in actual fact they are still only in their mid-20s. They play a progressive blend of bluegrass, folk and jazz as a trio, and more recently they have been branching out and collaborating with equally accomplished contemporaries in various side projects, also worth checking out. 

This collection comprises eight original songs, along with one original instrumental tune, and one cover. Til I Met You, a touching sweet love song allows Tabitha to showcase her delicate vocals at their best. Along with her outstanding banjo playing, they are joined here by David Benedict (now Tabitha’s husband!) on mandolin, and by fellow Armagh native Niall Murphy on fiddle. The ensemble playing here is superb - the unhurried pace gives space to let the various instruments breathe. One is left in no doubt as to why David Benedict (Missy Raines, Mile Twelve) is recognised as a rising star among mandolin players in the US. The talented Niall Murphy (Cara Dilllon, Breaking Trad, etc) has won numerous awards including All Ireland fiddle championships and is a BBC Young Folk awardee. His sparkling fiddle contributions on four tracks here elevate them to a higher level. 

Benjamin Agnew (upright bass) shows that he is no mean singer on his modern gospel song Why, enhanced by harmonies from brother Reuben, and by more scintillating mandolin from David. Reuben (guitar) gets to apply his ‘go faster’ stripes on the up tempo instrumental Pinley Green. Co-producer Dave Molloy (Cellar Club Studios) adds some inspiring electric guitar to Run Run which leads it up a jazzy funky side lane, and gypsy jazz fans will enjoy the closer, Can’t Sleep Without Caffeine. For the benefit of the non-Americans among us, the band’s name is slang for a ‘cup of coffee’ - no, I didn’t know that either!

A promising taste of what I hope is yet to come from this talented crew.

Review by Eilís Boland

Bianca De Leon Dangerous Endeavor Lonesome Highway

This is my first introduction to the music of singer-songwriter Bianca De Leon. She is based in Austin, Texas and this is her fifth release over a career that has been building steadily since her debut album, back in 2001. Her songs are influenced by growing up in the south Texas borderlands, a region where, as a young girl, her aunt taught her to smuggle tequila across the border under her petticoats. 

There is a Tejano flavour in the song arrangements and the playing is superbly underpinned by the violin, which plays a prominent role on a number of songs. Three different musicians are credited with violin contributions across the different tracks, with Fulvio Renzi (violin/viola on White Freightliner and Thorn Of A Different Rose), Javier Chaparro (violin on Has It Really Come To This, If You Just Had A Mirror, I’m Waitin’ For A Miracle) and Richard Bowden (violin on Let’s Put The Dirty Back In Dancin’) all excelling.

De Leon co-produced with John Inmon, a very experienced and talented producer who provides most of the backing instrumentation. He has appeared on recordings by Townes van Zandt, Jimmy LaFave, Eliza Gilkyson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Delbert Mcclinton and many others over a distinguished career. What he brings to these songs is his passion for letting the music breathe and his fluid playing is a joy across many of the tracks selected here – the title track being a prime example and also, the up-tempo sound of That Vintage ’67 Cadillac. There is also some fine piano from David Webb on Sad Corners Of Her Eyes, a song about the impact of the ‘other woman’ in a relationship.

Many of the songs are steeped in a Country sound and deliver a slow tempo in these tales of broken love (Has It Really Come To This), a legacy of hurt (Hollow Victory), empathy and fellowship (I’m Waiting For A Miracle), or just going out and remembering how to have fun (Let’s Put The Dirty Back In Dancin’). Terrific tunes, played with great heart and no little talent.

De Leon wrote all but three of the songs and these are cover versions of (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle (Hank Williams), Rose of a Different Thorn (Will Dudley) and White Freightliner (Townes Van Zandt); all delivered with some conviction and perfectly slotted into the overall project. Worth your time and money and a real keeper. 

(PS. The label it should be noted has no affiliation with this publication - good name though)

Review by Paul McGee

Bright Falls Logging Self Release

This 5-track EP arrives from Eddie McCormack, a Thurles, Co Tipperary based singer songwriter who has been performing as Bright Falls since 2014, either solo or in a band format. He recorded these songs at JAM Studios with Martin Quinn, multi-instrumentalist and producer with over 25 years’ experience in the music business. It’s a pairing made in heaven and between them, plus Andrew Quinn on drums, they deliver a very impressive sound that is authentic Americana with some stellar playing. 

At almost 22 minutes, the music never overstays its welcome and the superb skills of McCormack (acoustic, electric, 12-string guitars, bass and vocals) and Quinn (pedal steel, banjo, dobro, acoustic guitar, vibrato vibes and keyboards) take hold of these songs and deliver a strong statement.

Bad Habits rocks hard with a great riff and a big keyboard sound while Monroe Logging Company is a more stripped back Country arrangement with pedal steel drifting on the laid-back beat and a song about logging drivers and dead-end jobs. Photo Frame fits in a similar vein with a story of family woes, fathers who leave and unfulfilled lives – a real stand out track. 

Juniper is another excellent song with an acoustic arrangement and a rueful look at carrying a torch for another, even when the attraction is not returned. Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy (Harry Stone, Jack Stapp) appears in the guise of Jesop Creek Tent Revival in a short ditty that entertains, before the Waterboys influenced big sound of Preacher Casey comes whooping in to lift the soul and the spirit as it thunders towards a very satisfactory conclusion.

Great to know that such talent is bubbling under the surface in rural Ireland and I recommend that you get behind this promising artist and support the cause.

Review by Paul McGee

Fallon Cush Stranger Things Have Happened LTR

This band has been a favourite act down under for many years now and this is their fifth album since they first appeared on the local Sydney scene back in 2011. With creative source Steve Smith at the controls, the high standard of their previous work is maintained and the consistently high-quality shines through. 

Steve Smith wrote all the songs and produced, in addition to leading from the front on vocals and guitar. There is a hint of Neil Finn in the vocal delivery, which is no bad thing, while the superbly melodic arrangements are filled with great hooks and choruses. The players form a very tight unit with Casey Atkins on guitar/vocals, Tim Byron on keyboards and Suzy Goodwin on backing vocals. Peter Marley plays bass and is joined by Russell Crawford on drums – together they deliver a steady backbeat for the other musicians to build upon. Josh Schuberth recorded and mixed the tracks at Endomusia Studios, Blue Mountains, NSW and he also contributes on lap steel and percussion. 

Clocking in at 36 minutes, the tunes are really catchy and radio friendly, with a nod towards Tom Petty or the Jayhawks in the song structures. Burn is a track about Karma and payback for actions taken and deeds done. Sleep Her Away follows with a song about frustrated desire while Benny and The Key instantly grab the attention with their up-tempo arrangements and bright sound

This is commercial rock with a twist, perhaps more akin to Alt Country and maybe we can call it Australiana, as a defining sound from their part of the world. I Don’t Care What You Wear is a relationship song and has a slow groove, with warm keys playing behind a piano melody and strummed guitars. 

Yarraman and Sit With Me are more acoustic based songs and both deliver pleasant melodies and a change in rhythm and tempo. Tighter Than A Drum closes the album and builds to a great climax as Smith sings of the anxiety caused by a relationship breakdown. 

Another strong statement from a band that continue to evolve and deliver music that is entertaining and inventive.

Review by Paul McGee

Mapache From Liberty Street Yep Roc

There is a retro feel to the opening track, Life On Fire, which transports me right back to California in the 1960’s. Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci appear as musical brothers, with tight harmony vocals and clean acoustic guitar sounds that create images of bright sunny days and lounging on a porch swing. Their performing name, Mapache, is Spanish for Raccoon apparently and while not conjuring up the most positive of images, it does sit with the idea that omnivores are prepared to try anything. 

In this case, the Spanish tracks, Me Voy Pa’l Pueblo, Me Da Muerte and Igual, are somewhat distant as their meaning can only be guessed at, even if they all sound pleasant and pass along like a light breeze. The violin by Sara Watkins on Cactus Flower is very interesting and adds another layer to the song arrangement before we return to the easy melody and guitar strum of See Through. There is just not enough diversity to lift or separate the songs and the harmony vocals are not sufficient to carry everything across the fourteen tracks here.

There is some fine pedal steel playing on Face Is Blue and To Play For All Of You but my review copy has no information regarding studio musicians, so I cannot credit the players here. The album was recorded at a house on Liberty Street (hence the title) where the two friends lived and it is located in a Mexican-American part of Los Angeles, which influenced the writing and the overall lo-fi feel to proceedings. Producer was Dan Horne (Allah-Las, Cass McCombs) and he captures this groove very well. The instrumental, Liberty Street Blues, is a standout track with some inventive ensemble playing and pedal steel jousting with keyboards.

They released a debut album back in 2017 and their light sound is certainly something that has nothing offensive in the listening experience, just not enough to really fire the senses.

Review by Paul McGee

George St Clair Do You Feel Strange? Self Release

A Texas born singer/songwriter who now works in London where he did a PhD in Anthropology  - a subject that would seem a useful tool for a songwriter. This album follows up to his last release BALLADS OF CAPTIVITY AND FREEDOM (2018) with a new set of self-written songs. They largely consider the human conditions of love and of finding it. The album was recorded Texas and in London and was produced, engineered and mixed by Pat Manske. A musician and producer who has worked with a range of artists like Alejandro Escovedo as an engineers as well as a percussionist with Joe Ely to name just two of his clients.

Here he fulfils duties both sides of the desk. He is joined by the renowned Scrappy Judge Newcomb on guitars and the UK’s (and Lonesome Highway featured) Joe Harvey-Whyte on pedal steel. But it is St.Clair who is the central character here with his engaging voice which has a gentle quality that suits this writing which deal with the ups and downs associated with the vagaries of a lasting relationship. 

Never-the-less St.Clair can also up the tempo as required such as with the vibrant Bad Billy. There are some the solid vocal harmonies in Without Him and the questioning of the title track which wonders “do you feel strange, if you still hear my name?” Here St.Clair sings of making a decision to move on and make a new life. As with the album overall there is a delicacy that rewards and reveals not only the structure of the lyrics themselves but the details of the music which at all times sits together comfortably with those words. Courage To Be Kind focuses on the kind nature of a woman who continues do so in the middle of the cruelty that surrounds her. The King not only mentions pedal steel guitar but also features it in an enticing and illuminating way on this tale of a former majesty of the honky-tonks and has search for the high life.

George St Clair has traveled in his career and absorbed both the people and places that he has encountered along the way. These experiences are translated into a set of honest songs that seems to be unassumingly modest but soon reveal their depth with crafted melody and mellifluousness.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Lee Sims A Few More Miles To Go Self Release

Making it clear that music keeps you young Sims opens the self explanatory Live Myself To Death Before I Die. Without looking at the cover image it might be difficult to pinpoint Sims’ actual age. However that picture encapsulates a man in love with country music - the old school variety. It kinda goes without saying that the 12 songs here are not going to change your perception of country music to any large degree. Sims and his band players draw from traditional sources with a 80s /90s ethos and they play the hell out of the songs. It’s not life changing but it is likely to be life enhancing when you are in a venue and Lee Sims is onstage. 

The album was recorded in Tennessee and produced by Greg Cole who has brought in a selection of players who’s name as would have be familiar to anyone checking the credits on many a mainstream Hat Act release back in the 90s. Brent Mason on guitars, Mike Johnson on steel guitar, Gordon Mote on piano and Joe Spivey on fiddle alongs side others. Cole himself adds the drums and background vocals. All bring these songs to life with an understanding and penchant for the genre as it was back then. For his part Sims is an interpreter for these songs as most would appear to be written by a number of outside writers. They have been well chosen to evoke that era. Names like David Stewart, Galen Griffen and Byron Hill turn up more than once so they may have come from a song search that are largely unknown but ideally suited to the voice and musical direction that Sims wants to deliver.

There is some measure of humour and pathos in the song Alcohol Of Fame. When checked it is not the Wayne Kemp song of the same name or the Molly Thomas one recorded by the likes of Stonewall Jackson. Rather this is a pun that works in country music and this version by Masters, Hill and Griffen is no less amusing in its tale of barroom belligerence. It is one of a number of storytelling tales of a time and life style like the interracial love of Colourblind. Again this is a theme that has been written about previously but one that still has some resonance today. Taking that into account Sims brings his big baritone to bear on these songs which in truth I don’t think Simms would be unhappy to have compared to some of those breakthrough acts of the 90s. It is a targeted style that both he and his home-state audience (and perhaps further afield) would be very comfortable listening to.

Review by Stephen Rapid

New Reviews-Albums

Thunder and Rain Passing In The Night Self Release

Hailing from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Thunder And Rain are a four-piece band most closely fitting the bluegrass genre but also more than capable of delivering impressive old-time country and catchy mainstream songs. PASSING IN THE NIGHT is their third release and features the most impressive vocals of Erinn Peel Lukes, alongside her bandmates Dylan McCarthy on mandolin, Ian Haegele on bass and Allen Cooke on dobro. McCarthy and Haegele also add harmony vocals, complementing Peel Lukes' fine lead deliveries.

The majority of the song writing is credited to Peel Lukes, who was a New Folk finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2018. It’s possibly unfair to the other members of the band to describe the album as somewhat of a solo venture by her, given the quality of the playing. However, when considering the theme running through much of the material, it’s not difficult to form that opinion. The impressive musicianship by times disguises some hard-hitting lyrics, suggesting relationship difficulties at the time of writing. Notwithstanding the albums suggestive title, tracks such as the classic old school country Walk Right Through The Door Of My Heart and the full-on jangly album highlight Two Ships, both point in the direction of unrequited love.

The album features twelve tracks in total, blending full on bluegrass on the previously noted Two Ships and Run With You. Get It Together offers a catchy flamenco style introduction before merging into a toe tapping delight. Falling Down A Rabbit Hole, a fusion of modern country and pop, leans in the direction of Alison Krauss and Union Station.

 In a somewhat overcrowded market in the bluegrass genre, it is particularly difficult to stand out from the crowd but the all acoustic sound of this band is well worth investigation. If you are a casual bluegrass listener, you could do a lot worse than check out this recording. Thunder and Rain are on tour in the UK in May of this year on a fifteen-date tour across the country. On the basis of this impressive album, I expect that they would be equally dynamic in the live setting.

Review by Declan Culliton

Shane Alexander A Life Like Ours Continental Song City

Shane Alexander’s career includes recording and touring, TV and film credits, alongside production duties for other artists at Buddhaland Studios, which is located at his home in Ventura Country, California. A LIFE LIKE OURS follows his 2016 recording BLISS. It’s his seventh studio album and has contributions from a host of L.A. players including Ted Russell Kamp (Shooter Jennings) on bass, Jesse Siebenberg (Lucas Nelson, Lady Gaga) on lap steel, Carl Byron (Jim Lauderdale) on piano and Austin Beede (Grateful Shred) on drums.

A practicing Buddhist, Alexander had initially intended to populate the album in total with material fuelled by the current political environment in America, but on reflection he decided to focus on more positivity rather than totally on despair. The album’s themes include family, a childhood memory, relationships and a large measure of hopefulness. However, it does have its hard-hitting inclusions. I’ll Be Here was written in the aftermath of the Los Vegas mass shooting and Lost Road reflects on family and friends left behind to deal with the suicide of a loved one. A cover of Nights In White Satin is, in the main, true to the original version, with the exception of a mid-song excursion into Ennio Morricone territory. Both Fault Line and the title track are reflective and slow burning folk songs before Alexander closes the album with the optimistic Evermore.

A LIFE LIKE OURS offers the listener an impressive group of songs which navigates a path across the writers’ inner thoughts and emotions. Well worth a listen.

Review by Declan Culliton

Kacy & Clayton Carrying On New West

There is a delightful simplicity and innocence to the recordings of Saskatchewan cousins Kacy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum, as if they are blissfully unaware of musical trends and fashions of current times. Not inclined towards experimentation, their albums follow a tried and trusted path, forged from traditional and modern folk roots and focussing on simple, honest to God stories, about everyday people and events. It’s the time-honoured method of writing lasting folk and country songs. It’s also in complete contradiction to the all too common approach to song writing, locking five people in a room for hours until they concoct a bunch of often bland and predictable lyrics.

 Anderson’s sweet high-pitched vocals and Linthicum’s finger picking guitar playing have delivered an undisputable consistency and excellence throughout their back catalogue. This latest release is probably their most impressive collection of songs to date. As advanced by the title, the album follows on from THE SIRENS SONGS (2017). It’s similar in style, and unlike their earlier work it also includes bass and drums, this time around provided by Andy Beisel and Mike Silverman. Even with a fuller sound, Anderson’s vocal and Linthicum’s guitar style remain up front, no doubt encouraged by Jeff Tweedy, who produced both CARRYING ON and its predecessor. It was recorded live at The Loft in Chicago, having been written while they toured extensively during 2018.

Self-confessed old folk and country music nerds from a young age, the cousins engrossed themselves in The Carter Family, Hank Snow, Bob Wills and Doc Watson as teenagers. Exposure to U.K artists Fairport Convention, Shirley Collins and Anne Briggs came a few years later. The late 60’s U.K. folk sound rings true on The Forty Ninth Parallel, complete with Richard Thompson style guitar break from Linthicum. The title track, which includes backing vocals by Linthicum, is a reminder of our impermanency (“Life don’t cost nothing, but your sweet time, and you know you'd be spending it anyway. So, hold every minute like it's your last dime.”) Similar themes of impending death appear on the dark anti-murder ballad Spare Me Over One More Year and In A Time Of Doubt, which tells of a defiant escape from a cruel relationship. Mom and Dad’s Waltz #2 speaks of an unwanted child, and a semi deserted wife who, unable to cope, passes the child from grandparent to grandparent. Linthicum takes lead vocal on the catchy High Holiday, a tale of a travelling musician and its inherent woes. The Sweet Orchestra Sound closes the album on an upbeat note, recalling joyous local musical gatherings and name checking local players Bob McGlynn, Bud Romanski and Lonnie Harden.

When Lonesome Highway last spoke with Anderson, she pointed out their plan going forward was ‘to keep making an album every couple of years, tour to support it and repeat that cycle as many times as possible.’  They have achieved that goal with this delightful spiced up country folk album and are currently on a tour of Europe, the USA and Canada that runs up to the end of May 2020. 

 Review by Declan Culliton

David Quinn Wanderin’ Fool Self Release

I’m admittedly a little late to the party with this album, which was released early last year. An inclusion on the most recent Bloodshot Records Compilation TOO LATE TO PRAY/DEFIANT CHICAGO ROOTS set me scurrying off to check out David Quinn, whose track Long Time Gone was one of a number of gems on the Bloodshot collection.

Quinn initially cut his teeth as a drummer in a number of local Chicago bands, prior to writing his own material while touring as a session player with various bands. A failed marriage set Quinn off on a self-inflicted nomadic journey, travelling from Colorado south to Texas and back west to California. The experience fuelled material both reflecting his travels (Grassy Trails, Where The Buffalo Roam, Wanderin’ Fool) and the breakup (Cryin’ Shame, We Both Know). Motivation aside, what he delivers is a no-frills crossover of raw old school country and cosmic rockabilly. The album does draw comparisons with two albums from 2018 by two equally under the radar country rockers, Pat Reedy & The Longtime Goners (THAT’S ALL THERE IS AND THERE AIN’T NO MORE) and Cliff Westfall (BABY YOU WIN).

Quinn presented the material to Andrija Tokic at Bomb Shelter Studios in Nashville, who gathered together some crack players to put their mark on the album. Dave Roe (Johnny Cash’s bassist), Jimmy Lester (drummer for Billy Joe Shaver) and Micah Hulscher (keyboardist for Margo Price) all feature. It’s not the longest album, weighing in at only twenty-six minutes, but the quality rings through and it is a taster for an artist well worth following.

The good news is that Quinn has booked studio time in Nashville in the coming months and lined up another band of local players to record his follow up album, which hopefully will land in the summer. Most definitely one to watch out for after this fine introduction.

 Review by Declan Culliton

Emma Hill Magnesium Dreams Self Release

This is the seventh studio release from Anchorage Alaska resident Emma Hill and her musical partner and co-producer Bryan Daste. Collectively the duo are yet another alliance that fits the Americana groove like a glove. Hill plays acoustic guitar and also has lead vocalist and song writing credits. Daste chips in on a wide range of instruments including pedal steel, banjo, guitars, percussion and glockenspiel.

Like many artists, Hill used the Kickstarter platform for funding and she presents an elegantly packaged album with a lyric booklet and striking artwork that immediately catches the eye. Graphics aside, it’s fair to say that the musical content is equally impressive with songs that are channelled down a traditional country folk direction like Stardust, crosses over to the jazzier sound on What Time and offers offbeat pop on the title track. The jewel in the crown is the closing track Give Up The Ghost.  A lively and dramatic up-tempo song, it’s transported to an altogether higher level by the introduction of viola, violin and cello courtesy of Kyleen King and Emily Dalsfoist. It’s a fitting end to an engaging and moody listen that holds the listeners attention from start to finish.

 Review by Declan Culliton

Tony McLoughlin True Native Fuego

Released in November 2019, TRUE NATIVE is the seventh studio album recorded by singer songwriter Tony McLoughlin. It was recorded at Gaf Studios in Co. Tipperary Ireland and was produced by legendary Irish guitarist Philip Donnelly, who sadly passed away on 28th November 2019. Philip played guitars and percussions on the album, with Tony McLoughlin’s contributions including vocals, guitars, Hammond organ and harmonica.

The album provides the listener with nine solid songs, including a version of Butch Hancock’s If You Were A Butterfly. The guitar driven Blood On Blood is the opening track and a benchmark for what follows, with McLoughlin’s weather worn vocal sitting comfortably alongside some killer guitar work. Here Comes The Wind has a rocky ZZ Top feel to it and Below Zero is the standout track on the collection, a crunching guitar lead rocker that recalls Tom Petty. The Colour Of Spring and Treeline are simple and very listenable country ballads with backing vocals by Jean Anne Chapman Tarleton. Mercury is stripped to the bone, with semi spoken vocal and acoustic guitar.

All in all, an impressive body of lived in and heartfelt songs that manage to achieve the ideal balance between folk, blues and country.

Review by Declan Culliton

The Brookses Lucky Charm Self Release

On this debut release, father/daughter duo, James and Meg Brooks deliver a sound that includes influences of traditional folk, country and blues. The 12 tracks are divided equitably with James writing six, Meg penning five and one co-write included for good measure. They share vocal duties with Meg’s voice very confident and strong on numbers like Lucky Charm and Black Magic, songs that break out of the comfortable arrangements and offers a bluesy groove with Meg singing above a slow rhythm and an atmospheric guitar sound from James on lead. Candlemaker is a traditional Country arrangement as is Over Again, High Noon and If Tears Were Whiskey. There is a contemporary Folk sound and feel to songs like Evening Star that also repeats with tracks Victrola and Calicoe.

Self-produced by the Brookses, who are based in Atlanta, they play both as a duo and with a full band on the local circuit. Joined by Scott DePoy (fiddle), Emily Backus (banjo, backing vocals), Chandler Galloway (organ), Robert Henson (bass) and Adam Goodhue (percussion), the playing is easy on the ear and the gentle sway to the songs is never something that leads to repetition.

 Skylarking and The Bridge conclude matters and the warm band sound is a lasting memory of what is an enjoyable listening experience.

Review by Paul McGee

Coyote Brother Self-Titled Self Release

When reviewing John Hardin’s album The Piasa Bird, which was produced by Hayward Williams (an artist with six albums under his own name), I noted that it would be well worth hearing more music from this team. Well here is our opportunity, only this time they are working together as a duo under the name of Coyote Brother. It is every bit as rewarding as that previous album. Although not brothers by relation, they are capturing that sibling harmony sound that reminds a little of the Brother Brothers’ work. The two produced the album together with the rhythm section of Jeremy Moses Curtis on bass and Charlie Koltak on drums, who lay down a solid but unobtrusive bedrock throughout. Brooks Milgate plays piano and B3 and the sound is further enhanced by the gilded pedal steel of the ubiquitous Eric Haywood.

And while these players are prominent throughout, it is the voices and songs of John Hardin and Hayward Williams that are the essence of the album. Nine songs feature of which seven are by Hardin, one by Williams and one is a co-write. That latter song titled A Part Of Me That’s Lonely opens the album. This song sets the tone for what is to follow with their rich, understated vocal presence that has a certain melancholy. It talks of being surrounded by friends and family, of being in the heart of a city but having a sense of loneliness that accompanies one through their life. The lyrics for the album are reproduced on the duo’s website and show a poetic sense that may not be obvious on first listen, but soon reveal the depth of the writing.

While this is an album to listen to in total - the best way in fact to be entranced into the band’s world - there are some songs that have a more immediate impact such as the opening song and also Lucky Ones and Palmetto Wine. The latter is a slow song delivered over an insistent drum beat, some stark guitar and atmospheric pedal steel, with a captivating vocal from the duo,which shows the epitome of their individuality. The lyrics often take a non-linear stance as with London Dry - curios title in that the song talks of a woman with a tender heart and a reckless head but the reference to the title is a little oblique. Alberta Goddamn combines place and time as well as reference to another woman who was “wearing a hat she took off Stackolee.” The end result is an album to savour and a must for anyone who like close harmonies and music to match.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Frank Migliorelli and the Dirt Nappers The Things You Left Behind Rave On

Think a little about Nick Lowe’s output if he’d grown up in America and that will give you a hint of the sound of Frank Migliorelli and the Dirt Nappers. A little rock ’n’ roll, power pop, county and white soul. Frank Migliorelli leads his five piece band through this collection of self-written songs. They are delivered with a spirit and verve that suggests a band having fun with the making of their music. Aside from frontman Migliorelli the band are Tony Tino, Daniel Weiss, Mike Heaphy, Thad Debrock and Tommy Diehl. These guys add bass, keyboards, steel guitar, guitars and drums behind Migliorelli’s lead vocal and guitars. Nothing here is something you won’t have heard before but that’s not really the point. This is a band recording original songs that come from a myriad of sources and influences but combine them in a cohesive and enjoyable overall sound.

There are stand-out songs in Vagabond Shoes, the power pop of I Wanna Know or the sense of confusion surrounding a break-up (She’s Not Coming Home). There’s the retro sound of The Key To Your Heart a soul-tinged song about being unable to be with a girlfriend. Only Here is an anti-gun song, it comes in two versions an explicit and a radio friendly one. The harder version nails the NRA and the politicians under their patronage. Every Bartender In This Town Knows My Name is another highlight which stands out for a number of reasons, the main one it is the nearest to a traditional country song on the album and the steel guitar is to the fore. It’s catchy and twang-laden and shows that a full album flowing this particular path would be welcome (for this writer at the very least). That song is ostensibly the final song on the album proper and rounds out what is an enjoyable and varied set of songs. The second version of Only Here is listed as a and eleventh bonus track.

Frank Migliorelli and the Dirt Nappers album shows thought and thoroughness in equal measure and the band’s solid and satisfying self-production brings out the best in these songs. The members have a solid track record outside this band yet this seems like a unit that plays together because it wants to. The vocals from Migliorelli and his band and guests Sherry Marshall and Eleanor Kleiner all further enhance that. The lyrics manage to cover a number of different bases but the balance overall sit together perfectly and showcase a band that has across the board appeal on a number of levels.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Albums - New Reviews

The Hanging Stars A New Kind Of Sky Crimson Crow

With a sound that embodies the best elements of psychedelic folk and cosmic country, loaded with positive energy, The Hanging Stars are prime movers in keeping that musical treasure chest alive and vibrant. The band's output circles back to their hometown London’s underground musical explosion in the early to mid-70’s, prior to the arrival of punk/new wave, when a country-ish music scene flourished.  Local bands Ducks Deluxe and Starry Eyed and Laughing, together with recent UK residents (via America) Eggs Over Easy and Clover lead the charge, offering a welcome and novel blend of American & U.K. inspired music, a breath of fresh air at the time when the scene was saturated with what had become overly self-indulgent progressive rock.  The Hanging Stars would have been in their element and most likely leaders of the pack in that era.

A NEW KIND OF SKY follows on the heels of their well-received debut album OVER THE SILVERY LAKE (2016) and SONGS FOR SOMEWHERE ELSE (2018). The band have gone through some line-up changes since their start up, the current players being songwriter, singer and guitarist Richard Olson, Paulie Cobra on drums, Patrick Ralla on guitars and keys, Sam Ferman on bass and vocals, and Joe Harvey Whyte on pedal steel guitar. If both those previous albums pointed towards a band with endless potential but yet to find their sweet spot, they have hit the bullseye this time around. An extensive tour of Germany in 2018 gave them the opportunity to test some of the material on the road. On their return home, they immediately holed up in Echo Zoo Studios in Eastbourne to record the ten tracks that feature on the album. The result is a musical chemistry of players very much on the same page.

Opener Choir Of Criers slowly builds up to a Radiohead like groove with thumping bass lines, layered harmonies and wistful pedal steel. Three Rolling Hills embraces elements of early 70’s prog rock and would have fitted quite comfortably into the Peter Gabriel led Genesis of that time. In contrast, what follows is unadulterated Big Sur territory on (I’ve Seen) The Summer In Her Eyes and you can almost feel the scorching sand on the soles of your feet. I Woke Up In July, as the title may suggest, is dreamlike and hazy, powerful yet soothing.  

It’s all too easy to get lost in the album’s melodies, harmonies and hooks, given their impact.  However, on closer listen, social commentary close to home emerges. The title track, in particular, could be construed as a reference to revisiting an era and utopian fantasyland that exists only in the most selective memories. I Will Please You has its foundations rooted more in glam rock than country. With lyrics possibly pointed in the direction of political leaders on both side of the pond, its central message is disguised in a melody that, I guarantee, after a few plays, will be on repeat in your subconscious for some time.

Lyrical content aside, it’s the music that stands out. Twelve string guitar picking, mournful pedal steel, memorable hooks and intricate arrangements all play their part in what can only be described as a sonic delight. In keeping with their somewhat antique vibe, the album front cover has a fatigued look which offers a blurred photo of the band.  It’s like a rediscovered gem that you unearthed in your father’s dusty attic, that hadn’t seen the light of day in many a decade. 

The Hanging Stars may pay homage to musical movements from the past.  However, they’re far more than caretakers and A NEW KIND OF SKY establishes them as an outfit that stand firmly on their own feet as purveyors of a quite beautiful sound.

Review by Declan Culliton

Luan Parle Never Say Goodbye LPR 

Making the transition from child star to adult contemporary artist is a near impossible task in the arts, whether it be in acting or as a recording artist. Very few have made that progression with any degree of success. Luan Parle has managed to achieve this and has kept her career train firmly on the tracks since recording her debut album FIRST IMPRESSIONS at the age of 12. More recently she released THE FULL CIRCLE in 2010, followed by her mini album ROLL THE DICE in 2014, which featured the single Day Is Done, which charted highly in the Irish Radio Airplay Chart.

The material for her recent recording was pieced together followed the passing of her father two years ago. A trip to the remote island Innisboffin, off the coast of Galway, to gather her thoughts and escape the everyday distractions proved the most fertile environment to put her initial thoughts to paper.

Her music continues to be radio friendly, easy on the ear with melodies that sit comfortably between country and pop. She has most certainly hit the bullseye once again with NEVER SAY GOODBYE. The title track, we can only imagine, is a tribute to her father. The opener My Something Beautiful, the first single release from the album, topped the Irish iTunes charts within days of its release.  An immediately catchy song, it’s matched by the equally instant and tuneful Change Your Mind. The slow country ballad Come To Me Darlin’ enters early career Dolly Parton territory and Fare Thee Well introduces a sprinkling of traditional Irish alongside its country direction. The dreamy ballad Falling For You is delivered from the heart and bound to feature in Parle’s live setlists going forward.

Eight of the ten songs included were written by Parle with the remaining two being co-writes with Dire Straits guitarist Hal Lindes. Her chief musical collaborator Clive Barnes has been a fixture in her live shows in recent years and his stamp is firmly on the album, providing electric and acoustic guitar, lap steel and bass. He is also credited with Parle as co-producer alongside Thomas Donoghue.

Regardless of how strong the song writing and musicianship are, the real winner is Parle’s instantly recognisable voice which, like her musical heroes Dolly and Emmylou, is as sharp and self-assured as ever.

An awareness of your market is a prerequisite to remaining successful in an ever-challenging music industry. With NEVER SAY GOODBYE, Parle does not attempt to stray from her comfort zone and has delivered an album that will retain her standing as one of Ireland’s leading lights in the Country Pop genre.

Review by Declan Culliton

John Blek The Embers K&F

At a recent instore album launch John Blek suggested, tongue in cheek, that the people who most welcomed the release of THE EMBERS were his parents, as boxes of the album had been stored in their house for a number of months. I’m not entirely convinced that followers of the Corkonian would concur, as after just a few listens it’s not difficult to rate the album as his strongest offering to date. It’s also testament to Blek’s prolific output, as it signals his fourth solo album in as many years.

His 2019 release THISTLE & THORN, reached No.1 in the Irish Album Charts, earning him a prestigious IMRO Number 1 Award. It featured contributions from equally big hitters in the modern folk scene, Kentuckians Joan Shelley and Nathan Salsburg. Interestingly, the material for THE EMBERS emerged in the immediate aftermath of completing writing the songs for that album. Blek presented himself with the challenge of composing an album of songs on a given theme, rather than his traditional method of writing entirely from life’s experiences. The result is a collection of songs through the writer’s lens that examine failed relationships at various stages including infatuation (Death & His Daughter Fair), the often-tortured passion phase (Flame) and the sunken and unfulfilled aftermath (Empty Pockets).

The end product is business as usual from Blek, a continuation of his adeptness at penning and delivering traditional folk songs with his smooth vocal delivery and by now, trademark finger picking guitar style. That guitar playing is on full display on the short instrumental Old Hand which is included in the nine tracks on the album. He also includes drums - played by Davie Ryan - this time around and clarinet by Matthew Berrill. He abandons the relationships theme on the politically charged and experimental closing track Walls. Echoed vocals combine with fuzzy background guitar and clarinet as the writer asks ‘Who built the wall and stole the innocence? Who stood and watched with ambivalence?'

Recorded at Wavefield Recordings, Clonakilty, like its predecessor the production duties were shared by Blek and Brian Casey. Fellow Corkonian and songsmith Mick Flannery adds vocals. Thumbs up to Karol Ryan for the impressive artwork which includes full lyrics and a similar graphic template for the sleeve as previously used on THISTLE & THORN.

THE EMBERS is possibly Blek’s most accessible album of his solo career to date. It’s also another string to the bow of a craftsman at the leading edge of the modern folk movement both in Europe and much further afield.

Review by Declan Culliton

Eric Brace and Last Train Home Daytime Highs and Overnight Lows Red Beet 

A very welcome return to a band that had boarded a train bound for a town called happy memories back in 2007. Well, never say never, as here we are, back at the station, with a 6th album and a line-up that includes 11 musicians appearing on the 14 tracks, plus a few guests.

It was 1998 when the self-titled debut appeared and we were introduced to a sound of easy melody and gentle words, a brass section and pedal steel to augment the rhythmic groove of the band. There were a further four albums between 2000 and 2007 when the release of LAST GOOD KISS signalled the writing on the wall for this fine ensemble. 

However, coming full circle, 13 years later we are presented with the release of DAYTIME HIGHS & OVERNIGHT LOWS. Eric Brace, founder member, met with Martin Lynds (drums) and Jim Gray (bass) in Nashville and together they recorded the rhythm tracks for this new project. Brace then met separately with Jen Gunderman (keyboards), and recorded his vocals and guitar at musical friend and playing partner Thomm Jutz’s studio outside Nashville. Brace then went to up to Washington D.C., the original home of the band, where Jared Bartlett, co-producer, recorded his guitar sounds, along with brother Alan Brace (harmonica and vocals), Kevin Cordt (trumpet), Chris Watling (saxophone) and Dave Van Allen (pedal steel).

Bill Williams (slide, banjo, mandolin) and Scott McKnight (guitars, organ) recorded remotely and posted their contributions from home studios to Eric, who then began the mixing process with Jared. There were final touches added by guests Justin Moses (banjo), Thomm Jutz (acoustic guitar), and Lindsay Hayes (backing vocals). Quite the collective! Opening with a song that extolls the virtues of being at home, Sleepy Eyes sings of missing the small local pleasures that would be taken away by travel. The combination of accordion and mandolin give it a folky feel with a swinging melody. Similarly, Distance and Time follows a path of wishing for the reunion of friends and loved ones across the miles of travel. A prayer for the journey. Dear Lorraine is a Country tinged relationship song about what divides us - if only we could be on the same page - pedal steel adding atmosphere to the superb trumpet of Kevin Cordt and the harmonica of Alan Brace. Love changes. 

Caney Fork is another excellent Country song about moving on from a relationship and Floodplains is a standout among all these excellent songs with a great dynamic in the arrangement and the playing, all slow groove and understated angst in the melody and the words - Americana  mixed with an understanding of the essence of what Roots music holds dear.

What Am I Gonna Do With You (Barry White), is a surprise choice of cover song, showing a soulful side to the band, big production, expansive arrangement and a harmonica solo that just fits in, somehow. Old Railroads shimmers in a true Country fashion, slow tempo and muted horns, piano and atmospheric guitar parts. 

With a sound that is rich and full of colour, Eric Brace contributes lead vocals and his clear vocal has a warm, poised quality throughout. There are many different musical styles and influences at play and the use of different studio locations doesn’t hurt the overall feel of the music.

Songs about railways and travelling – Taking Trains, Old Railroads – life on the water, Hudson River, Sailor – relationships lost and found, Distance and Time, Happy Is, I Like You and the 60’s bubble-gum pop of Wake Up, We’re In Love all point to a strong return and a band at the top of their game. 

Review by Paul McGee

Crow Vs Lion The Heart, The Time, The Pen Self Release

Crow vs Lion is the music of Dan Gallagher and this is the second album he has released since he first appeared to the greater media, back in 2010. The music is very much in a contemporary Americana vein, with interesting melodies and song arrangements. The production by Gallagher (guitars, vocals) and Raphael Cutrufello (piano, organ, vocals) is very clean and engaging, while the studio musicians play with great understanding throughout.

The album separates the title themes into three sections, each section having four songs relating to The Heart, The Time, The Pen. The last song, the title track, embodies all three themes. So, in total 13 songs. There are three bridges, or transitions, that are included before each section but rather than clarify any direct link or meaning, I found these to be as much of a distraction, as anything else.

Gallagher has two sons, Danny and Dylan, with both given special place in the tracks featured. Indeed, across the 13 songs, there are messages in the highlighted words that spell out Special, Dylan, Time, Crow vs Lion, Believe, Danny and Rachael (his wife). Much care and thought has gone into the project, from the impressive packaging to the expansive liner notes. The number 13 is a constant source of reference throughout and in a sense, I am reminded of Numerology, where one tries to get to the root number by reducing digits until a final single digit is achieved. 

Taking the number 13, we end up with a root number of 4 – intrinsic in that Gallagher has 4 in his immediate family. Of course, we could extend the family to include relatives and wider members, ultimately ending up with a community. The core message of the album is one of being the best that you can be, personal awareness and growth, healing and renewal.

The four songs that deal with The Heart as the concept are written for his family, with son Daniel the main focus of Daniel Odin, highlighting the message of being special in the World. Newborn (Exon 42) is written to other son, Dylan, referencing his impact on a life that had experienced hard roads and of not being in control of circumstances. Beg, Steal and Borrow is written for perhaps, his wife, in a message that lays down his devotion and love to the family. Missouri is a realisation that the past can be a hard thing to let go and old love and indecision are best left behind.  

Part two is The Time, leading off with 5,6,7,8 – a song about perspective and the choices made, trading material success for a chance at a happy family life. Waking The Truth deals with the passage of time and being caught up in thoughts of mortality while Entropy looks at the randomness of life, the lack of order and the pain it can bring. The End Of Everything, with superb trumpet playing from Patrick Hughes, looks at the impermanent nature of life and the pressure of selling out on what is important.

The Pen deals opens with I’m Gray which looks at being overwhelmed by the big questions and wanting to experience it all, both good and bad. The violin by Kiley Ryan is very engaging, not only on this track, but across a number of tracks, together with her excellent backing vocals. Alpha and Omega is about the need to stay open to everything that comes your way and the interplay of violin, trumpet and steel guitar (Brad Hinton) makes this one of the outstanding tracks.

Red Ring offers advice to son Danny to love unconditionally and be mindful of outside forces that can threaten the peace you crave. The last song in this section is A Thousand Pages, with sweet acoustic guitar and a reflection on living your days and being optimistic. All comes together on final song, the title track, a loving paean to Rachel, his wife. A message of loving awareness, keeping it in the family and being open to the Universe. 

Review by Paul McGee

Annie Keating Can’t Stand Still Self Release

This 6-track EP was released during 2019 and adds to the impressive body of work by this excellent artist since her first release appeared in 2004. With six full albums, two compilations and a number of singles to her name, this Brooklyn based singer-songwriter continues to explore her talents and stretch her range. Apart from a decent cover version of the Cat Steven’s song, Trouble, she delivers a blues groove on Mother Of Exile that is full of atmospheric playing by the musicians; Dan Mills (electric guitars, vocals),Chris Tarrow (electric, acoustic, slide guitars), Mark Goodell (bass, guitars, vocals), Jesse Humphrey (drums, vocals) with Annie on acoustic guitars and vocals. Sun and The Moon is a mid-tempo arrangement that has a fine melody line, while the driving beat of Boxes, Beholden and $20 are more defining of the band dynamic. There are four co-writes with Dan Mills and production by Matt Shane is of the highest standard. Trouble is a brooding end to the EP with Keating applying all her vocal nuance and experience to a song for our divided and divisive times. 

Review by Paul McGee

Phil Lee & The Horse He Rode In On Self-Titled Palookaville

Something of an old favourite, this new release from Phil Lee finds him revisiting some of his favourite songs from previous albums, recording them this time with Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot from Crazy Horse (hence the album title). There are a bunch of others bringing their skills to the party too. This album was originally released in 2018 but only got to Lonesome Highway recently as the initial posting went astray. It is a fine album and therefore worthy of attention. 

There are a host of guitar players involved aside from Mr. Lee himself including Jan King, Richard Bennett, George Bradfute, Gurf Morlix, Pete Anderson, Bill Kirchin, Dorlan Michel and David West. Most certainly one for the guitar enthusiasts out there. (try Rebel In My Heart for instance). But it is some of the simpler songs that hit home on first listen like Hey Buddy,which is imbued with that Lubbock feel. No Exit Wound has a very Sir Douglas Quintet feel with the Vox Continental organ from Jack Irwin. Barry Goldberg features on keyboards throughout too.  In I Don’t Forget Like I Used To there is a reflection on love, one that may be a double-edged sword in that “there’s a reason I’m still blue, I don’t forget like I used to.” Woman troubles also raises its head on Party Drawers a duet with Molly Pasutti wherein both give as good as they get. There are some bonus tracks such as a tale of a trucker who ended up killing some children in a road accident. For this he names the trucker as his friend and fellow musician Sonny George! 

Lee is an interesting writer with some well-placed observations of the human condition, often tinged with a mischievous humour. Add to that a voice that is immediately distinctive and you have an underrated songwriter and performer who flies largely under-the-radar, even in the Americana world. The main players here are all in their 70s and none seem to have lost their verve for music and keepin’ on keepin’ on. What you hear is some good ol’ rootsy rock ’n’ roll up-tempo tunes mixed with ballads that are both from the heart. It is in many ways the perfect introduction to the crazy world of Phil Lee and his musical cohorts and buying the album is highly recommended.

 If you can’t find a physical copy you can get one from Lee’s website, where there are some notes from the man himself on each track and the players who were on each of the songs. This is one for punters who love the real thing, however crazy it may seem on the outside. You and the horse you rode in on.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Luther Black and the Cold Hard Facts Self-Titled DA

This in fact is an album that was produced, written, arranged and played by Rick Wagner, with a number of additional musicians adding an instrument or two and on selected tracks. There are twelve songs of which the closing track is his version of the Hank Williams Sr classic I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry. So, let’s start there. It opens with the noise of crackling vinyl and a distorted vocal. It is a slow, moody delivery that is a million miles from the original and in some ways an odd way to end the album after the preceding set of original songs. However, it also may be the best place to place it, not to interrupt the flow of previous songs, while offering a précis of a certain world weariness that goes back to the nerve? of heartbreak.

These are songs that are of the traveler, the road weary musician and the searcher. Perennial themes for Wagner’s filtering of the traditional aspects of country music, the back roads of the outlaw and the contemporary nuances of today’s non-mainstream Americana. Wagner grew up on rock and then its bastard son punk, before walking the side streets of the foil and singer songwriter boom. These are all elements he brings to this debut album under this guise. Previously he has played, as a bassist mainly, with The dBs, The Silos, Paul Collins and many more. Now at 60, he delivers this solo statement of intent with songs like 59, a reference to the age he was when he recorded the album and a summation of his thoughts on the life that brought him here.

Other songs take on a dirtier, bluesy rock sound as on Trouble. Some of the songs are confessional in approach and as such take a lighter approach to expressing that as with Proof. Take that to mean the one related to alcohol as it does life’s certainties or the simple understanding of World Won’t Wait. Warners’ focus has rough edges to it, that seem appropriate to the mood expressed on the album. Under The Influence Of Love has the feel of some fine 80s roots rock and tell a tale of the more upbeat sides of living. There is an undeniable layer of melody among the more barbed guitars, allowing the listener to uncover that as they play through the songs. The guise of Luther Black and The Cold Hard Facts is a productive one and while I was expecting something slightly more traditional in advance, what we have here is impressive in itself and that’s a fact.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Bobbo Byrnes The Red Wheelbarrow Brokensilence

This is an album of roots rock fronted by Byrnes’ guitars and robust vocals. Recorded in Nashville and California among other locations, it set out not to be overproduced or over thought. As a result, it has a lively feel that is energising and rough and ready. Byrnes is joined on the album by some 18 other contributors, some of whom may be known to the readers of album credits such as drummer Ken Coomer and keyboard plater Rami Jaffee. Another familiar name, if not in roots music circles, is that of Paul Manzanera, who adds his guitar to the roots take on Roxy Music’s Virginia Plain. One of a number of covers that feature, including their version of the truckin’ song Looking At The World Thru A Windshield. Mexican Home is from the pen of John Prine, the other outside song being Lovers. From then on Byrnes is the writer or co-writer of the other six songs.

Byrnes describes this sound as a joyous noise and that pretty much sums up its sense of having a good time on these largely up-tempo workouts that are full of moments that raise a smile and keep a foot tapping. It sounds like they would be a great band to catch live but here, from the studio, they have done much to capture that feeling. Part Time Cowboy is pretty much self-explanatory of his musical life. The previously mentioned Looking At The World Thru A Windshield is one of the more countryesque outings here with some twanging guitar solos. Byrnes is solid and satisfying throughout the recording on guitar, baritone, piano and pedal steel and well as on his bar room ready vocals.

The John Prine song Mexican Home is a male/female vocal ballad with steel and harmonica and therefore standout because of the pace and subtlety. Bu way of contrast Lover, a cover song, is a fast paced tale of going for the good times in the city. Mrs. What’s His Name is about trying to change a lifestyle but not really being able to, even whilst declaring love for a partner who has a different outlook. 

The album closes pretty much as it opened with January but one that concerns itself with the problems that a relationship which isn’t reciprocated can have. Byrnes however manages to deliver as an album that overall has a sense of positivity and uplift that offers up hope and not a little humanity in its raucousness and righteousness sound.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Album and Book Rerelease

Marty Stuart The Pilgrim, A Wall To Wall Odyssey BMG

The Pilgrim album was originally released on the MCA label in 1999 and served as something of a renaissance for Stuart. It was not a career highpoint or chart toping contender in the terms that record companies might aspire too. Rather it is a rounded statement of creative roots inspired music that does not rely on the commercial aspirations of either the artist or record label. It is an album made for the simple reason of wishing to communicate, to tell a story and to make it a universal one. He wanted and needed to grow musically, to explore new pastures in a context that was both spiritual and musical.

This twentieth anniversary edition now comes with the original album and a host of additional tracks that were recorded at the same time and feature fellow seekers like Johnny Cash, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Josh Graves, Connie Smith, Pam Tillis and Emmylou Harris. Their presence alone should give you an idea of the respect that these artists had for Stuart. It is also a visual treat coming as it does packaged as a 100 page book that documents every aspect of the recording process in word and picture. There are photographs and notes on the instruments. reproductions of lyric notebooks, photographs by Jim Arndt from the cover photo session, alongside many other photographs from Stuart’s career and some more casual in studio snapshots. Also featuredare Stuart’s own reflections on the entire process and his own photography that covers the people and places that helped define the rich history of country music for what it was and should be. These sit alongside such sources as the work of O. Winston Link’s, a photographer who captured fantastic images of an era when steam trains were dominant and a mention of the great Native American portrait photographer Edward S. Curtis. 

All of this makes for a rounded and rich accompaniment to the music which is essentially the backbone of this project. If you think of it as a kind of CD super booklet that every such album indeed needs to give it the context it requires for a major reassessment for those who didn’t appreciate its worth on its initial release. It  also makes the enjoyment of the album all the more special as well as giving an insight into the mind and music of one of the undoubted greats of country music who has himself reached that status of icon in what has become something of a maligned and misplaced genre.

Review by Stephen Rapid

PS. As yet I haven’t seen a physical copy on sale. It is listed on Amazon for £40 sterling and €47. You can also purchase it from Marty Stuart website along with a vinyl and poster edition.

New Album Reviews

Leaf Rapids Citizen Alien Coax 

Keri and Devin Latimer were founding members of alt-country band, Nathan, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They released four records and in 2015 this husband and wife team decided to form Leaf Rapids. This is their second release and these songs are beautifully conceived and brought to life with tender loving care. They look to a past where life was supposedly simpler but in reality, was so much harder. It is a tribute to fortitude and the strength to endure whatever life throws at you. 

Whether it is unwanted teenage pregnancy, Dear Sister, or the quiet desperation of motherhood, captured in the track, Virginia, this key-hole look into the past lives of hardship and hope is beautifully observed. Barbershop Shears is based on a true story of an immigrant picture-bride from Japan who delivers a punishment to a lumberjack client in a barber shop in Victoria, Canada. Husavik honours the immigrants who came from distant lands only to suffer death and disease at the hands of a smallpox epidemic. 

On it goes with gentle tributes such as Helen’s Waltz, for Devin Latimer’s mother who died last year – which includes Oscar Latimer, aged four, constructing a song and Helen Latimer reciting her own poem, poignant and touching.

Parliament Gardens and a salute to the heroes of WW1 who suffered terribly from PTSD long before it was ever diagnosed or recognised.  Caragana Switch looks at child punishment at the hands of parents who knew no different and the scars that remain from such abuse. 

The title song, Citizen Alien, recounts the horror of Japanese immigrants being declared illegal aliens by the Canadian Government during 1942 and the Second World War. Evicted from their farms, homes and land in an act of unbelievable cruelty. Forced to survive through hard labour until 1949 when they were granted freedom of movement, these Japanese were never given back what was taken from them. These are the stories of everyman, passed down from immigrant generations who displayed incredible dignity and force of spirit in the fight to endure in a cold World. 

Co-produced with acclaimed Winnipeg multi-instrumentalist and composer Rusty Matyas (Imaginary Cities, The Sheepdogs), Keri Latimer realises a singular vision by delving into her family past and the stories that were passed down across generations. Husband, Devin Latimer carried out a similar research and together they have created and documented a project of incredible artistic merit and depth.

Twenty Stories High doesn’t seem to fit into the overall theme and appears to be a song about demon hangovers, slightly unwound individuals and those who try to keep a focus on normality. Equally, There They Go seems to be a song about subjective observation of another’s life and getting it probably very wrong. Self-righteous isolation.  

The studio players are Keri Latimer (acoustic guitar, theremin, lead vocal), Devin Latimer (bass), Joanna Miller (drums), Rusty Matyas (keyboards, trumpet), with various guests on selected tracks, notably Bill Western on pedal steel and Michael Johnson on piano. Ground breaking and joyful, the past serves up lessons for the present.

Review by Paul McGee

Great American Trainwreck Self-Titled Self Release

This debut release was recorded at Bear Creek Studios, Washington and is self-produced by a band who are based in Seattle, USA. The twelve tracks included here are just shy of 44 minutes and their sound is very much in the Americana stable. There are elements of Bluegrass, Country and Roots Rock and the players are Stephanie Ward (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars), Chuck Dunklin (electric tenor guitar, mandolin), Andy Basinger (keyboards), Dan Rogers (electric/upright Bass), Dave Bush (drums). The album features guest appearances by Danny Barnes (Banjo), Dave Harmonson (Pedal Steel), and Judd Wasserman (Vocals). 

Hell On the Rise and Louisiana are strong openers and see the band driving forward with a rocking sound. Gears is classic Country with banjo to the fore and Moving Mountains falls into both camps with a slow rhythm and tone. Devil Woman shows off the vocal prowess of Stephanie as she takes the main part in filling out the sound, warm keyboards surrounding the delivery. 

Undercover slots nicely into a Bluegrass field with both Boxcar Pass and Friend Like You energetic numbers with great ensemble playing, again displaying Bluegrass influence and leanings. Highland Drive has a slower tempo but some sweetly delivered melody lines and the last two tracks, Relativity and Heavy Weights show both sides of the band, the former is a full-on, up-tempo workout and the latter, a slower groove around the vocal of Ward and a soaring chorus line. Engaging and a fine debut. 

Review by Paul McGee

Kyshona Listen Fish

This artist lives in Nashville and has been at the forefront of bringing positive messages of hope and reconciliation to the growing number of admirers who are discovering her music. She sings with a passion and her powerful voice has been compared to both Aretha Franklin and Etta James no less.  Her medium is Soul, Gospel and RnB music and before she found an outlet for her songs, she graduated as a music therapist, working in mental health hospitals and correctional facilities.

Kyshona sings of healing and empowerment and co-producer on the album, Andrija Tokic, (Alabama Shakes, Hurray For the Riff Raff, St. Paul and the Broken Bones) anchors everything with a creative energy at his famous Nashville Bomb Shelter studios. 

The tracks are a melting pot of soulful blues, gospel and plenty of R’n’B in the mix. The ten tracks include messages in support of the marginalised and the title track, Listen, is a strong opening swipe at the authorities who turn a blind eye far too often. Fear is a great band workout with the rhythm section steering a mean groove around the driving guitars and a blues vocal that really delivers.

The sweet Soul sounds (We The People/Fallen People) and slow groove (My Own Grave/Try) arrangements all deliver with great conviction. Worried Mind is pure Gospel Blues with piano and organ laying down a warm texture on top of the rhythm, while Marching On has a R’n’B pulse that is infectious. 

I received no information regarding the studio musicians on the project but the playing is tight and full of colour throughout. Kyshona really sings these songs with everything that she has in her vocal range and her spirit shines through. The last song, More In Common, is a slow, soulful blues with a plea to realise that there is support out there for those who feel beaten down in this World. 

No doubt we will hear much more from this talented artist who has already shared the stage with acts such as Margo Price, Wynonna Judd, Lake Street Dive, JD McPherson, Cracker and many more.

Review by Paul McGee

Bronwynne Brent Undercover Self Release

A simple yet striking image of Bronwynne Brent adorns the cover of UNDERCOVER, the third album from the Mississippi born singer songwriter. She’s depicted glancing furtively to her left, as if she’s expecting an unwelcomed pursuer to appear. It captures the underlying direction of much of the album’s material, with titles such as Lost In The Moonlight, Empty Pot Of Gold, You’ve Lost Your Way, Big Talker and the title track, suggesting relationships devoid of happy endings.

However downbeat these titles may appear; their delivery is another thing altogether. Brent possesses one of those voices that wraps itself around notes like a blanket and works equally well delivering jazz tinged numbers as it does soul infused country. Comparisons with Amy Winehouse are understandable and those familiar with the equally talented Frazey Ford will notice similarities.

Brent presents thirteen tracks on the album which includes two cover versions, Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Baby Leaves You and Jacques Brel’s If You Go Away. I’m not convinced that she needed to include either as her own material far outweighs them, and sometimes less is more.

She bares her soul on the stripped back Raincoat and fleshes out the mid 60’s sounding (I’m reminded of Lulu’s To Sir With Love) You’ve Lost Your Way with a cool Memphis horn driven sound. The previously referenced Big Talker, given its content, could be downbeat and morose but Brent transforms the subject matter into a beautifully melodic ear pleaser. It stands alongside the title track as the highlights from a delightfully packaged, measured and refined body of work that offers a flawless crossover of folk, soul and countrified blues.

Review by Declan Culliton

Elaine Lennon Self-Titled Little Sailor

Difficult to slot into any definitive musical category, Glaswegian Elaine Lennon’s debut album is most certainly easy on the ear. Gifted with a delicately beautiful voice, her sound embraces light soul, jazz and radio friendly pop, across the eleven tracks on this album.

Next Friday Night, a breezy love song, opens the album complete with Lennon’s impressive layered vocals. Trouble and Little Bird Little Sailor are soul driven gems, the latter an ode to her two young children. Alone Here With Me explores loneliness and isolation and the dramatic This recalls her fellow Scot Annie Lennox. The album includes one cover track, Hank Cochran’s She’s Got You, immortalised by Patsy Cline back in the early 60’s.

Top marks to Elaine and her team for the striking packaging, which includes a lyric booklet and some stunning photography. So many more high-profile artists seem to dismiss the principle of including the lyrics with their albums and settle for bland album covers - a cardinal error in my humble opinion - so thumbs up to Lennon and many of her contemporary emerging artists for reversing this trend. Also noteworthy is the impressive production by Glasgow singer songwriter Finlay Napier, who also contributes guitars and backing vocals in the mix. The Glasgow ‘go to man’ for pedal steel, Iain Sloan also features, as does Euan Burton on bass.

Review by Declan Culliton

Evie Ladin Band Caught On A Wire Self Release

From California comes a superb (and truly Americana) album for the times that are in it. Grown out of her deep roots in country, folk, bluegrass and old time music, Evie Ladin has captured the essence of what folk music is about - she explains that this album ‘explores contradiction ... singing about conflict, to sing it through to resolution’. Those contradictions are aptly illustrated by the cover art - a stark photograph of shredded white diaphanous material caught on strands of black barbed wire.

Kicking off with a country ballad California I Cry, Evie’s gorgeous twangy vocals lament the urban build up and environmental damage to the state that she loves, and now calls home. Renowned for her clawhammer banjo playing, songs like Glory and Gone Again show that instrument at its best. Collaborating on all tracks are the two members of her road band:- Erik Pearson (vocals, guitars, banjo uke) and Keith Terry (vocals, bass, drums and percussion). Recorded mainly using acoustic instrumentation, the interesting and often unusual arrangements are a testament to the fact that all three have spent their lives embedded in music and dance, as performers and educators. Away from the serious stuff, there are also several joyous songs that wouldn’t be out of place at a hoedown or a rock and roll dance party. Of the thirteen tracks here, all but one are originals written by Evie. Late In The Evening slows it right down and guest Sundra Manning is called upon to lay down some piano for a moving portrayal of the heartbreak of the migrant worker - unfortunately all too relevant for many millions of people around the world today.

News Cyclone is another highlight - Keith Terry’s percussion adeptly creates the stormy atmosphere behind Evie’s driving banjo, echoing the constant stream of words which we are bombarded with on an hourly basis by the media. Recommended.

Review by Eilís Boland

Phil Davidson Out Of The Dark Self Release

On the poppier side of Americana - or should that be Australiana? - comes the fourth release from Phil Davidson, who hails from the Blue Mountains in NSW. Phil upped and went to Nashville to record at Eastside Manor studio with his old friend and fellow Australian Sam Hawksley (Sunny Sweeney, The BoDeans) in the producer’s swivel chair. 

The songs clearly germinated during Phil’s serious brush with mortality in the recent past. He has thankfully had the all clear from cancer since, but the profound effects have naturally coloured his songwriting. Themes explored are those of gratitude, love for family and friends, his faith and a renewed appreciation of life. 

The Nashville influence is obvious almost from the start. Fearless and several other tracks feature the pedal steel playing of Dan Dugmore, who can rightly be called legendary. Producer Sam Hawksley contributes guitars, mandolin and bass, James Farrell plays keys, and Rachel Loy and Jano Rix complete the lineup on bass and drums, respectively. There’s a melodic 80s pop feel to Mavis Staples and Angelique Kidjo, and Mavis is name-checked again in the lovely Fort Worth TX. The latter is written about his friendship with the Texan singer-songwriter Bonnie Bishop, who returned the compliment by adding her much acclaimed country soul vocals to most of the tracks. The standout song for this reviewer is the beautiful slow burner Things I Didn’t Say, a cowrite with Fred Wilhelm and Sam Hawksley. Phil Davidson has a steady following in his native Northern Ireland, where he was a favourite of the late Gerry Anderson and of another broadcasting legend Cherry McIlwaine. I suspect he will be getting even more radio play on the BBC and further afield for this latest project.

Review by Eilís Boland

Ruby Lovett It’s A Hard Life Puff Bunny

A stellar country voice returns with a brand new album that is titled after its opening track It’s A Hard Life, penned by the still prescient Nanci Griffith. It’s a song that takes in the Troubles in Belfast as well as overt racism in America. These examples are used to illustrate the continuing divisions in society and Lovett quotes the lines from the song on the back sleeve “If we poison our children with hatred, then a hard life is all that they’ll know” which serves as a warning for the future (and for the past).  That title track, written in 1989, sets the tone for the album, which features a number of Lovett co-writes (several with K.S. Taylor Pie - who also has a song on her own as well as one written with Herb McCullough). Taylor Pie also co-produced the album with Lovett and Mark Miller.

Musically it is acoustic country with an edge. The assembled players include multi-instrumentalist Jeff Plankenhorn, violinist Gene Elders, Dave Pomeroy on bass, Taylor Pie again on several instruments and Russ Pahl. But the focus is Lovett’s vocal dexterity which is laced with a twang that places her undeniably in the country basket. It has a heart and soul that shines through and the musicians simply underscore those sense of values.

A Father’s Life, espouses hard work as an honest way of life, a value passed on to her by her adopted father) that hard work which was a way a life but an honest one and one that from which her adopted father passed his own values to her. Catfish John was written by Allen Reynolds (who Lovett worked with in her early days) and Bob McDill. A song about a former slave who works as a river hobo and the attraction he had as a misfit. It is played in a simple bluegrass fashion. The Blues You And Me is given a treatment that is in line with its title with fiddle a steel that both emphasise the fact that the blues “they come to town every now and then.” Home Sweet Honky Tonk was written by Jim Rushing and Carl Jackson, but like the covers here sits with ease beside the self-written co-writes. It is slow paced, reminiscing on heartbreak and the place where “the same ol’ crowd of losers seek comfort.”  Riley Bring Your Fiddle has Lovett singing that she needs “a little music with that old-time sound.” The use of the pedal steel with the acoustic instrumentation again proves effective and noticeable. Straight From The Heart is a love song that is “til death do us part.” They Don’t Know is about a relationship that works though not seen as right by others on the outside. The final song Walkin’ On The Moon, takes on dreams and ambitions and hope for one’s self. It is filled with a spirit and heart that is seen throughout the album. One that is musically strong and full of courage and grit and real emotion. There may be hard times in life but sometimes there is music to sooth the soul too.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Philip Rambow Canadiana Fretsore 

Now this is an interesting release. I was a fan of Philip Rambow since his emergence as frontman of the pub rock band The Winkies. A band that were a part of the pre-punk emergence of shorter, faster, edgier bands like Eddie and The Hot Rods and’s set list. Since then Rambow has released a number of solo albums since the demise of The Winkies but returns with a wide-ranging release that makes reference to his birth country and his current musical endeavours. He is a part time member of The Tex Pistols (UK), an occasional band that includes Pete Thomas and Martin Belmont (who also features here on Springtime In My Heart and Piggin’ Out).

The new release opens with the recent singles American Buffalo and Things Are Not Looking Good. The former song features the Elvis Costello rhythm section of Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher as well as UK pedal steel guitarist CJ Hillman and guitarist Paul Cuddeford. Former Basement Jaxx singer Sharlene Hector is backing singer here, though she also appears on a couple of soulful duets on the album too. American Buffalo ponders its loss alongside the soul of the nation in its search for the mighty dollar. Things Are Not Looking Good is a song that is led by the fiddle of Bob Loveday and has the piano of Geraint Watkins adding to the overall feel. The song laments that life doesn’t always go the way it should. These musicians are joined on other tracks by Stephen Gilchrist, Mick Hutton and multi-instrumentalist Jack Henderson along with other contributors. The latter produced Angel Everyday and Devoted to You, playing all the instruments on the first and all expect for the bass on the latter. The main producer for the other material was guitarist Paul Cudderford, who has his own impressive track record. Hector is very much to the fore on Oceans Apart, a verse by verse duet with Rambow, where both vocalists are well suited to the song’s message of separation but closeness.

The sound is pretty wide ranging but all falling under the wider umbrella of Canadiana/Americana. However, it is Rambow’s name over the door and he proves that he is still an impressive vocalist and songwriter who has written all eleven songs on the album, three as co-writes. He also plays acoustic guitar throughout. Rambow is a largely undiscovered talent but one deserving of wider exploration, which may come with an upcoming re-release of his back catalogue. Even without any knowledge of his previous work this album is full of tracks that standout and is both welcome and worldly wise.

Review by Stephen Rapid

New Album Reviews

Arborist A Northern View Rollercoaster

 I had wondered how long it would take for a full-blown album to appear with its influences fuelled by the enormity of Brexit and its ramifications. It should not come as a surprise that Mark Mc Cambridge of Arborist should take up that mantle, given its potential impact on Northern Ireland and particularly as he composed the soundtrack to Clare Dwyer Hogg’s recent film Brexit: A Cry From The Irish Border.

The album appropriates different musical forms across its eleven tracks, weaving between folk and rock, experimental and the spoken word, as Mc Cambridge considers eras past and the unsureness of times to come. His sound at times brings to mind that of New Zealander Marlon Williams, given his impressive vocal range and I’m also reminded of his fellow Ulsterman Neil Hannon on the album’s second track Here Comes The Devil. A dark shadow prevails across much of the material - and indeed from the album’s artwork, as the writer attempts to unravel thoughts of a sense of gloom. “I haven’t seen the sunshine in nearly a month, I’ve retreated, I’ve drawn the blinds, I need a little space so I can rewind” he announces on Too Much On My Mind.

In a similar manner that HYMNS TO THE SILENCE was a reflection by Van Morrison of a particular moment in time, A NORTHERN VIEW is similarly passionate and thought provoking. The recording process commenced in 2017 at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio in Wiltshire. Over a two-year period, further recordings took place at Amberville Studios in Ballymena, Soup Studio in London and Start Together Studio in Belfast.  Mc Cambridge co-produced alongside Ben McAuley, with further musicians James Heaney (bass), Jonny Ashe (guitar) and Richard Hill (piano, organ). Additional musicians were engaged to add strings, brass, pedal steel and backing vocals, resulting in lush and rich orchestral layers on By Rote and Can I Add You To My Will. The spoken word Taxi is both a sad and amusing tale of his father’s cousins claim that he was single handily responsible for transforming Whisky In The Jar from a traditional ditty to a rock chart topper. The title track brings the album to a close in spectacular fashion, it’s a six-minute epic that builds to a crashing climax like great rolling waves breaking on a stony beach. Distorted fuzzy guitar and exploding horns contribute to the rawness of the song, alongside Mc Cambridge’s rugged vocal, its simply beautiful.

 Arborist have been coming to the attention of both the media and punters over the past number of years without any fanfare. This delightful album is bound to raise McCambridge’s profile even further.  Essential listening.

Review by Declan Culliton

Louien None Of My Words Jansen Records

The positive and unexpected kickback to a five-minute demo song, uploaded to Soundcloud by Louien in 2018, was the spark that ignited the Norwegian singer songwriter’s solo career. Yet another female artist carrying a torch for the burgeoning Nordicana genre, Live Miranda Solberg is the lead singer songwriter of Norwegian four-piece band Silver Lining. Using her stage name Louien, she joins labelmates Signe Marie Rustad (who guests on the album) and Malin Petterson on Jansen Records, to release a striking debut album.

There must be something in the air in Norway that generates such exceptional vocalists of late. Louien’s high pitched angelic voice is immediately impressive from the word go, before you even consider her lyrics. Much of the material was conceived following the passing of her father four years ago, as she attempted to cope and reconcile with her loss (‘’this album is probably more about the first phase of a grieving process – hopelessness, isolation, anxiety and depression”).

Emotion filled and open hearted it may be, mourning the passing of her father, but it also focuses on rebirth and stoicism, as she accepts the inevitable and reassess her own relationships, both past and present. Opener I Will Follow ushers in her crystal-clear voice alongside simple acoustic guitar, before being joined by sweeping strings.  Heart And Mind Alike is for her father, an acceptance that grief is more than a passing emotion, as she vows to cherish the memory rather than mourn the past. The Fool is self-deprecating, a gentle folk melody harking back to bad relationships. Like much of the material it’s awash with exquisite string arrangements. Endless Love, the second last track, offers optimism and light at the end of every tunnel.  

The final song is the demo that ushered in the motivation to write and record NONE OF MY WORDS. Louien has resisted retitling the song and simply names it Demo. No.1. It’s a fitting bookend to a body of work that navigates its path across a collection of emotions. It’s another gem to add to the growing catalogue of Nordic artists successfully gate crashing the Americana classification.

Review by Declan Culliton

Amberly Chalberg Hi-Line Self Release 

There is a clear heart to this album that highlights the various stories that make up a life - from the those that were a part of a lesson learned, or of the positivity of growing to understand who and what you are, or may become. This is Chalberg’s first full length album and is dedicated to her father. The album cover and title are both a reflection of their relationship, with the title being their home location and the cover image a personal reference to him. He passed away last year after the album was recorded and therefore this is a lasting tribute to their relationship and also of others.

Chalberg recorded the album under the guidance of producer/engineer Todd Adelman, who also mixed the album. It was recorded straight to quarter inch tape and makes good use of the very seasoned rhythm section of Jim Christie and Taras Prodaniuk and equally well with guitarists Joe Mazza and Eben Grace. This core band was joined on occasion by the added instruments of keyboards, pedal steel, harmonica and harmony vocals. This gives the album an urgency and vitality that is in keeping with the motivation behind the songs. Chalberg has had comparisons with some of the best of the leading performers of roots Americana and it is not difficult to see why.

She possesses both a talent as a vocalist and as a songwriter, and these 12 self-written songs (one of which is a co-write) are testament. The sound is built around solid roots rock that is firing on all cylinders. Crazy ‘Bout You is a bluesy statement of love with some upfront guitar. A relationship with alcohol appears in the titles of the songs Drunk and The Whiskey Song. Lil Bit Country refers more to location that musical choice, yet like many of the other songs it has a nicely roughen edge to its delivery. There is a venerability and openness in the vocal of I Apologise, a self-explanatory song of the way that one cause hurt to another and is an album highlight.

HI-LINE marks Chalberg as a mature artist who, after one EP and this album, is likely to continue to produce work that is, while not unlike in overall sound to a number of her equally worthy contemporaries, honest and true to her particular viewpoint. In doing that she is also mirroring the situation of many others, who will readily recognise a kindred soul and some similar situations - but with a compelling soundtrack.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Neil Bob Herd & The Dirty Little Acoustic Band Every Soul A Story Cattlecall

This is the latest incarnation from Herd that continues his musical journey through roots music that include blues, bluegrass, country and Scottish folk. Herd is a former member of Western Electric and The Coal Porters, among many other musical guises. He now seems armed to get a little more electric with his comrades Paul Fitzgerald (dobro, guitar, vocals), Glenn Lamberton (bass) and Gary Smith Lyons (drums). Herd contributes lead vocals, guitars and pedal steel. A couple of guests also join them on various tracks, all under the production hand of Dan Swift.

One of the immediately noticeable components here is the vocal inflection with an identifiable regional Scottish accent throughout. This gives focus and personality to the songs which are robust, roots and rocking’ for the most part. The albums first track Bad Lands is open enough lyrically to make the place where things are turning bad to be whatever place that suits that description. It moves at a pace and features some dexterous guitar from Herd. As Much As I Need To declares that love, in this case, is a necessary function but one that is only given with consideration. It is another guitar driven outing with some pedal steel to sweeten the deal. The Colour Of History takes a decidedly folkish sea-faring tone, with accordion adding much to the overall mood of times past. In context it is a stand out, though on its own may give a slightly unrepresentative view of the album.

Leave Only Love features a more relaxed pace and has banjo high in the mix to give it an old time flavour. There is a hopeful premise to Light A Single Candle as it offers the need to light a single candle where darkness reigns … and hope remains. The next song takes on a groove that is uplifting with underlying bass behind the fiddle and baritone guitar, giving the backbone to a song which makes the point of its title and what may lie in each of us. It is a song that again should be given prominent exposure and another album highlight as is the beat group 60’s feel of Well, Well. Coming Back As Jason is a softer ballad about a beloved friend and hero. Herd’s pedal steel is integral to this song, adding to its slightly dreamy nature. Exactly What I Wanted is co-written by Herd and Kerenza Peacock, otherwise the remainder of the song were written by Herd and show him as an accomplished writer. They have saved Best Song to last. While it may not necessarily be the best song on the album, it is the last track and again has an engaging retro feel that offers an up-tempo and uplifting ending. An album and artist that are a welcomed addition to the better examples of roots music emerging from the UK at this time. That tells a story in itself.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Della Mae Headlight Rounder

This is the fourth album release from this Boston bluegrass band and the title track, Headlight, supports the ‘Me Too’ campaign with a call to arms for all to endorse such a worthy movement. There are other tracks that communicate a similar message, It’s About Time and Change among them.

Now based in Nashville, this all-female string band is made up of Celia Woodsmith (lead vocalist/guitar), Kimber Ludiker (fiddle, guitar, vocals), Jenni Lyn Gardner (mandolins, vocals), Avril Smith (acoustic and electric guitars) and Jen Gunderman (piano, organ Wurlitzer, synths, celeste, harmonium, mellotron, vibraphone). 

They are joined on this venture by Sophie Guigeno (upright bass), Jamie Dick (drums, percussion) and Dan Knobler (electric and acoustic guitars). Guest vocalists are The McCrary Sisters (three tracks), Vickie Vaughn and Ruth Moody. 

Produced by Dan Knobler (Caroline Spence, Lake Side Drive) at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, the sound is really buoyant and celebratory and jumps right out of the speakers at you. The arrangements are terrific and filled with dynamic melody and rhythm changes as the songs unfold. Throughout, is the superb fiddle playing of Kimber Ludiker, weaving in and out of the arrangements and underpinned by the excellent mandolin lines of Jenni Lyn Gardner.  

However, the entire project is led by the compelling vocals of Celia Woodsmith who carries the songs lightly with stellar performances on all twelve tracks. The colour and texture of the songs lifts the entire process way above that of a simple bluegrass band and the musicians have really stretched out this time around with playing that is of the highest order. 

The Odds Of Getting Even has some killer mandolin playing which is matched on fiddle on Wild One, a real rocking tune that kicks hard. Waiting For You deals with a woman who is trying to start a family but cannot get beyond the fact that her body is not responding. Peg Monster is written by Kimber Ludiker and is a pure bluegrass instrumental with the band having quite a workout and guitar, mandolin, fiddle all dancing around each other in a heady stew of sound. The Gospel Blues of Change carries a message that there is a light in the darkness and the mandolin leads a stirring arrangement that has another impassioned vocal delivery from Woodsmith. 

The Long Game speaks of staying in the fight as long as possible and Working is a Blues song that tips a hat to those who went before and their sacrifice in making things better for all women. It has a fine blues arrangement with backing singers that give the song a Gospel feel. Final track, I Can’t Pretend, councils that we learn from our mistakes and that in order to grow, we must accept our failings in an imperfect World.

Five of the songs are written by Celia Woodsmith and she co-writes on another two, with Kimber Ludiker contributing two songs and one co-write. Advocating for women’s rights is a worthy activity and with these songs of different female perspectives they are certainly championing the rightful path on their journey.Their goal is to spread peace and understanding through music and in showcasing female musicians, they preach action through advocacy, mentorship, programming, and performance. This is a very enjoyable album and builds upon the momentum and success that this band has experienced over the last few years.

Review by Paul McGee

Bonny Light Horseman Self-Titled 37d03d

The band name is taken from the traditional song of the same title and this performing collective is comprised of Anais Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats The Shins, Vetiver and Califone) and Josh Kaufman (Craig Finn, Josh Ritter, The National). An unlikely partnership on the surface, but one which works beautifully and seamlessly across the ten tracks chosen for this collaboration. 

All songs are based in the old traditional Folk history of the British Isles and beyond. The airs and melodies are used as a creative inspiration for the three artists to embellish and add contemporary nuance to the arrangements.

There is a finely woven texture to these songs and the interpretation of long loved ballads is very enriching, creating a special piece of work. The opening, title track, is a lament from the Napoleonic Wars and considered to be approx. 400 years old; timeless in its slow sorrow, with a repeat chorus and a high pitch to the plaintive vocal of Mitchell. Deep In Love has a message of loving and being vulnerable to pain, with the alto voice of Johnson hitting high notes to compliment the sweetly laid-back playing that accompanies the song. There is a nod in the lyric to the traditional song The Water Is Wide and the whole arrangement is beautifully understated.

The Roving is another traditional song which is quite beautifully delivered while the subtle guitar and piano interplay frames Mitchell’s soft delivery. It has been covered by other artists, among them Mary Black, and is a lament about love lost. On the superb Backwaterside, Anais and Eric share vocals and the folk infused arrangement is tinged with banjo, piano and sax, together with backing vocals from Jessica and Emily Stevely – a tale of lies and deception in breaking a young heart.

Magpie’s Nest is an Irish traditional song, given a modern insight and sung by Eric with such longing that you really do wish he could win the hand of the fair maiden. Lowlands has Anais and Eric harmonising around the lovely melody created by guitar, banjo, sax, harmonica and piano, all played with sweet sensitivity and dovetailing around the arrangement in gentle ripples. Mountain Rain follows with a sad tale of blasting rock in railroad tunnelling and the toll paid for such hard work with no pay worthy of the name. 

Bright Morning Stars is a hymn to rural work and family. It is a Gospel arrangement with harmony singing. Final track, 10,000 Miles, is a wistful air and a song about leaving, never to return…

All the songs sound beautiful. Played with minimal backing and light touch – there is a timeless quality to them and it feels like they have always been waiting to visit with us. The purity in the sound does credit to the production of Josh Kaufman and justice is done to these songs at every turn. Jake Xerces Fussell delivered a similar moment in time with the release of Out Of Time last year, with a collection of traditional songs that he reworked and this is certainly a trend to be welcomed in the industry that instead of always trying to reinvent itself, could do well to visit what has been left in the past just a little more.

Working at a venue called The Funkhaus, Berlin, the trio recorded what would become the foundation of the album, featuring fellow artists-in-residence Michael Lewis (bass, saxophone) and JT Bates (drums, percussion) as well as Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Aaron Dessner (The National), Kate Stables (This Is The Kit), Lisa Hannigan, The Staves, Christian Lee Hutson, and many other contributors. Leaving Germany with roughly 60-percent of a record, the band reconvened at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, NY, in January 2019 to finish, bringing Lewis and Bates as well as engineer Bella Blasko and mixer D. James Goodwin along with them.

Anais Mitchell plays guitar and sings, Eric D Johnson provides acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar, piano, harmonica and banjo. Josh Kaufman plays acoustic and electric guitars, organ and piano.  This is a complete joy and it will be a highlight in many lists come the end of 2020. Essential purchase.

Review by Paul McGee

Nadia Reid Out Of My Province Spacebomb

The title of the album may suggest some level of discomfort in the process of creating these wonderful songs, however, if anything, Reid appears to be more relaxed and very much in control of career trajectory than ever before. 

The first thing that hits you upon listening to this third release is the superb production and the beautifully understated playing of the studio musicians. Reid’s sweetly reflective vocals are so inviting and seductive that from opener, All Of My Love, you feel yourself submitting to the hypnotic spell. 

The lyrics are somewhat veiled and no doubt hide meanings that are personal to Nadia herself as this New Zealand artist relocated to the USA in order to bring this undertaking to fruition. The whole record appears to be a chance for self-reflection, looking inwards and also, externally, to define herself in the World. There have been changes, questions and shifting boundaries brought about by international travel and the distance created. The loneliness of separation is a message that I pick up strongly, if indeed there is an overall theme running through the ten song titles. There is also the sense of looking back at younger days and relationships, both with lasting memories and broken dreams.

All Of My Love has a slow tempo with an atmospheric mood and deals with feelings of love, commitment and being apart.  High and Lonely has a simple guitar strum before the band joins in with that voice, both intimate and warm, and the swell of keyboards and muted horns, setting a relaxed rhythm that propels the song forward. Again, distance and separation are the main themes here. 

Oh Canada is more up-tempo and swings along to a lyric about a relationship compromised by Nadia’s need to travel for her career; wanting a partner to join her for the journey. Restrained guitar lines underpin this song, along with subtle keys and brass. Heart To Ride is a mid-tempo acoustic number with gentle strings and guitar, producing a memorable melody against the message of missing someone.

For this record, Nadia travelled to Spacebomb studios in NYC with long-term music partner, guitarist Sam Taylor. They were joined in the studio by some top-drawer talent in Cameron Ralston (electric and upright bass), Brian Wolfe (drums) Daniel Clarke (organ, piano, and keys), and producer Trey Pollard, who arranged strings, horns, piano, and Rhodes. His deft hand on the controls gives the songs plenty of room to build their sweet sound.

Other Side Of The Wheel is a delicate longing for someone who is far away and feeling lonely. The essence of time is explored in the lines “We are looking at the same blue sky, How does it feel? On the other side of the wheel.” She also sings that “Time is cruel, Time is a healer.” Almost as if she is happy with a break from the intensity of a relationship where some perspective can be gained – “I feel free for the first time. I am lonely but it’s not for the last time. And we needed it a little too much, What a shame, To rush our love.” A terrific track with some stellar playing from the studio musicians.

Best Thing follows with a look back at younger times and memories of an old flame and the growth that came from their time together. I Don’t Wanna Take Anything From You has a slow tempo and checks into a moment of reflecting back and feeling change – perhaps some self talk?

The Future is a really excellent track that references her Mother and sister in a look at how the past and lessons learned can be an arrow into the future. Who Is Protecting Me is again, an engaging melody and a personal song revolving around feeling vulnerable and reflecting on her relationship with, perhaps a brother?

Final song, Get The Devil Out, deals with the destructive side of feelings and having self-doubt, but asserting that “I’m making friends with who I used to be” and realising that “They will never take it from me.” There is real beauty here and this album lays down a very strong marker for the year ahead.

Review by Paul McGee

Lazy Afternoon Almost Home Paraply

Gotland is a province in Sweden and home to the Folk sounds of Lazy Afternoon. This is their second album and the band are comprised of founding member Bo Ahlbertz (lead vocals, Irish bouzouki), Cristina Säfsten (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Jörgen Ahlqvist (accordion and melodeon), Lars Johansson (bass), Pontus Nordborg (electric guitar and harmonies) and Stefan Magnusson (drums and harmonies). They are joined by Maria Nordseth on backing vocals and Mattias Svensson on drum and kajon (2 tracks).

There is a nice Cajun swing to the rhythm in Water, with the co-vocal of Bo and Christina working really well in harmony and the blues-tinged guitar of Pontus playing off the accordion of Jorgen. Make Love Real and Every Time highlight the clear vocal of Cristina and there is the hint of a Celtic tone in her delivery. The World Is Her Home bounces along even if the vocal delivery of Bo reveals the nuance of his accent. Sunshine has a cool Reggae groove with a fine vocal from Cristina and final track, These Words Are True, has a nice tex-mex swing. The twelve tracks are very well arranged and played by the ensemble and the production of Anders Nordh is alive and full of energy in the mix.

Review by Paul McGee

White Owl Red Existential Frontiers Hush Mouse

Singer/songwriter Josef McManus is the creative source behind this performance vehicle. The band also includes Kyle Caprista (drums), Gawain Mathews (guitars) and Leah Tysee (backing vocals). In the absence of any information regarding this release; who wrote what, who played which instruments and where the project was recorded, I must assume that McManus is the sole writer across the 14 tracks included here. He may well have also self-produced the whole project and these numbers fall very firmly into an Americana sound with a wave at Folk/Roots sensitivities along the way. Album number three, since his 2014 debut and there is already a fourth release due to be with us in Spring 2020.

The songs are interesting, with a variety that evades a defining, signature sound. The musicians serve the songs well and the understated playing on Good Morning Moonshine, See Through Me, Set Free and Love Her Still reflects the ease with which the melodies unfurl and linger. Starcrossed Lover and Everything But Crying are more commercial radio-friendly songs, while the Country sound of closing track, Wishing You Well, with harmonica and simple melody, compliments the previous song, Take A Good Look, - a fun take on the genre with steel guitar and shuffling rhythm. The overall production is sharp and there is lots of separation in the mix to highlight the different instruments.

Union Fight Song is a protest against Corporate greed and Big Business myopia with a promise that the common man will rise up to retaliate. I’m A Saint is a race to the end of the track in a Cow-Punk sprint, while the title track muses on the reality that nobody really knows what we are doing here and how we all have to figure out our purpose on our own. Fourteen tracks and just shy of forty-four minutes to find some hidden gems that reward the listener – there is much to enjoy here.

Review by Paul McGee

New Album Review

The Sweet Sorrows The Australian Sessions Self Release 

This husband and wife duo have been releasing superb music for many years now and this latest project sees them taking Australia, Kylie’s homeland, as a theme for the eleven tracks included.  They use their base in Co. Wexford, Ireland as the centre of their activities and tour on a regular basis, spreading their excellent Folk/Roots/Traditional sound to audiences far and wide. 

Sammy plays guitar, mandolin, bodhran and bass on this record and Kylie delivers on accordion, whistles and lead/backing vocals. The sound is very bright and full of texture with producer Brian Baker having done the honours at The Bakery, Victoria. Other musicians involved include multi-instrumentalist/producer Brian Baker (guitars, dobro, mandolin, piano, organ, strings, bass and drums), KJ McEvoy (guitar, 4 tracks), Tim Cotterell (fiddle, mandolin and pipes) and Rich Davies (background vocals).

It kicks off with the hard-edged rocking sound of Coober Pedy Opal Mine, a track that references the mining town that is known as the opal capital of the world, with a message to look below the surface before judging people in life. The next track arrives with a bluesy groove and Wiradjuri is a song about this Aboriginal tribe and their heroic role in saving people during Australia’s worst natural disaster when the Murrumbidgee River rose, causing widespread flooding in 1892. Adelady is a song about the joys of Southern Australia, depicted as a beautiful woman, and the arrival of an Irish emigrant to the beauty and the heat of a new land.  There are some superb guitar lines delivered by KJ McEvoy (The Remedy Club) on the track. Thirty Hours is a song that celebrates how Kylie and Samuel first met; you travel half a World away and find your one true love – the flying time between Ireland and Australia being … 30 hours! 

Orphan Girl, sung so sweetly by Kylie, is another tale of emigration from Ireland, this time due to the Famine of 1845 and sailing for Australia in order to survive and build a new life. The violin playing of Tim Cotterell is beautifully restrained and dovetails nicely with the acoustic guitar of KJ McEvoy. Don’t Weep My Bonnie Lassie has a traditional feel to the arrangement and the gentle melody, with pipes from Tim Cotterell and whistle from Kylie, add to the solemn tale of a soldier awaiting the gallows and thinking of his Scottish homeland and his sweetheart. 

Sydney Harbour is a love song, written by Samuel for Kylie, beautifully created and features acoustic guitar and accordion, a slow melody, with the song arrangement augmented by some fine fiddle playing. The final song, Hand Of The Almighty, is a hope for unity and acceptance across the globe and a feeling of being part of a greater plan. Four of the songs were written by Samuel, with a further two songs co-written with Kylie. The remaining five songs are by other writers, with Willingly (Brian Baker), Don’t Weep My Bonnie Lassie (Rich J. Davies), Grace (Ralston Bowles) and Orphan Girl (Brendan Graham) taking their place seamlessly alongside Wilderness, a song co-written by Samuel and Alex Legg. 

This is another excellent record, diverse and full of hidden treasures with the superb vocals of Kylie and Samuel warming these tuneful songs that gel together into a very satisfying listening experience. 

Review by Paul McGee

Hope In High Water Bonfire and Pine Fish

This is the second release from this musical duo, Josh Chandler Morris and Carly Slade, following on from their 2017 debut, NEVER SETTLE. They are based in Milton Keyes, England and both have had colourful journeys through younger years on their way to finding each other. Josh plays guitar and sings while Carly plays banjo, u-bass and harmonises beautifully with Josh across the twelve tracks featured. They are joined by Luke Yates on violin and percussion, who also recorded and mixed the album. Darren Capp provided drums and all songs are written by Hope In High Water.

The website states that their sound is “Mountain Music from the Flatlands of Milton Keynes” but I must admit to finding their creative muse falling more into the arena of contemporary Folk sound with a strong Blues delivery in the vocals. The album starts with Healed and a message of overcoming adversity, opening up to others and leaving behind the nightmares of the past. It’s Over Now follows and this has a similar theme, with new beginnings, embracing the positive and moving away from bad times and depression, the key message.

Pray Away speaks of loneliness, longing for another and memories that linger, while Bonfire and Pine deals with leaving the city noise behind and reverting to stillness and nature. Stronger Than You Know is a song about domestic violence and breaking the chains of fear until you learn how to say ‘No.’ Again, the banjo of Carly creates an eerie atmosphere before the band join in to build the dynamic.  

Alone is about sharing troubles together and opening up to others, with the simple acoustic arrangement featuring the stark sound of Carly’s banjo plus some superb violin lines from Luke Yates. Here Lies is about redemption found through the love of another and the strength to open up to a new beginning; this is the common theme that is laced through most of these tracks, of overcoming personal pain and adversity in order to get to a better place. 

Grenfell is a social commentary concerning the dreadful disaster that struck the tower block in London in 2017 and the lack of support from the authorities for the survivors and the victims. Pull Apart The Pieces looks at how our experiences leave their scars and that wanting to feel valued can be hard if you feel invisible. Banjo and acoustic guitar blend well together to deliver a stripped back arrangement. 

It’s almost a therapy session in itself and there is no doubt that the songs are all quite personal in their composition. With all these bare bones on display, there is a tendency to think that this duo dwells in too much introspection but then along comes Taken Too Much Pride and the lines “Stay true, stay hopeful, They can’t take the peace that’s in your heart.”

The final song, Something Unnamed, looks to the possibility of some greater force and states “All is unfolding in its very own way, When I come to believe in something unnamed.” This is an interesting release and the harmony singing is very appealing with a great edge to it. The playing is very strong, whether it’s the full band in flight, or just the gentler acoustic songs that give cause for reflection. A lyric sheet would have been nice as the words are not always easy to make out in the mix but they are all available on the website.

Review by Paul McGee

Cathryn Craig and Brian Willoughby The Cooley and Mourne Cabritunes

Brian Willoughby has worked with many musicians, including Dave Cousins and The Strawbs, Mary Hopkin and Nanci Griffith, as well as releasing solo work, BLACK AND WHITE (1998) and FINGERS CROSSED (2004). This recent recording with his wife, Cathryn Craig, features 15 tracks, including four guitar instrumentals and the couple were joined by Dermot McQuaid (bass, banjo, whistle and harmonica), Paul French (piano), Fergal Hughes (drums) and Colum Sands (double bass).

Willoughby contributes on acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, ukulele and E-bow, while Craig plays acoustic guitar, in addition to providing lead vocals. She also has quite a pedigree in the music business, having worked with Shel Silverstein and the Righteous Brothers, among others. Her back catalogue includes three solo recordings and together with her husband, they have released a further seven albums, including a live concert from Saint Pancras Old Church in London (2016). 

So, quite a creative output and a duo who complement each other perfectly when it comes to performing and writing together.  For this project, they co-produced with Steve Fearnley at the Narrow Water Recording Studio, Newry, Northern Ireland.  They have made their home in County Down over recent years and the love for the region comes through in songs like the title track, The Cooley and Mourne, both mountain ranges within a short distance of their place of residence. Also, the song, County Down, speaks of the beauty they have found in the region as their lives have unfolded and their activities have seen them use this base planning tours and returning home. 

Such contentment comes through in the songs, most of which are written by Craig/Willoughby. There are two co-writes, with You Don’t Care At All, a collaboration with Charlie McGettigan and Do It For Love, a positive massage on the power of love, with the assistance of Colum Sands. The four instrumentals (Narrow Water; Castle/Blue/Keep) highlight the wonderful guitar prowess of Brian Willoughby and his gentle touch and melodic lines are full of fluency and lyrical phrasing. He leaves plenty of space between the notes also and it is a genuine treat to hear the pure craft involved, delivered with such mastery. On the sleeve, he lists the guitars used during the making of this record - ten in total, plus a ukulele! 

Other songs touch on homelessness (For Martha), past memories that linger (To The Past), loss (Goodbye Old Friend and Take Me With You), blinkered property developers (On This Ground) and the final track, Bless Your Way, a prayer for everyman and the love that is there to be shared. This is music to be celebrated and enjoyed by all.

Review by Paul McGee

Jordi Baizan Free and Fine Berkalin

This Texan songwriter releases his second album and with Walt Wilkins as producer, together with Ron Flynt as co-producer and engineer, they recorded these eleven songs at Jumping Dog Studios in Austin. 

They gathered quite an array of talent to help bring these story songs to life and the impressive list of studio musicians includes Baizan (vocals, acoustic guitar), Ray Rodriguez (drums, percussion), Bill Small (bass), Chip Dolan (piano, wurlitzer piano, B3 organ), Walt Wilkins (acoustic guitar, percussion), Heather Stalling (fiddle), Geoff Queen (steel guitar), Dick Gimble (upright bass, fretless bass), Corby Schaub (lap steel), Rich Brotherton (mandolin on Pictures on the Wall, acoustic lead guitar on Tears and Mascara), Bart DeWin (accordion), Ron Flynt (bass, piano, and B3 organ on Footsteps on the Ceiling, keyboards, synthesizers), Libby Koch (harmony vocals on Pictures on the Wall, Tears and Mascara, and Could Have Been Us), Jaimee Harris ( harmony vocals on Between the Sun and the Moon), Walt and Tina Wilkins (harmony vocals on Desert Line and Winter’s Come).

Between The Sun and the Moon is a tale of first sight attraction and connection as guests at a wedding while Could Have Been Us imagines such an attraction leading to something more substantial and a wish for dreams to become reality. Pictures On The Wall is a reflection on the vagaries of relationships and the question of permanence. Desert Line speaks of the freedom of the road and living light and unencumbered. Footsteps On The Ceiling is a fine example of this artist’s gifts, with a gently reflective song about the noisy neighbours who have their own story to tell when you look below the surface. Baizan is certainly someone who writes from a unique perspective and his way with words is suitably different. Whiskey And Water is a fine example of this with a salutary tale of a father who intends to take revenge on a drug dealer, only to fall at the hands of the law and a routine vehicle check point.

 Let’s Have Seconds is a light melody that traces the life (and lust) of an artist who looks for self-expression in more ways than one!  Time To Leave The Neighbourhood is a look at what binds and what separates in the way we live our lives.  Closing track, Heroes All Around Us, deals with the reality of hurricane threats and the fellowship of friends and neighbours with the fortitude to reach out and offer a helping hand to others. 

This artist is worth the admission fee and his gentle songs are insightful and observational, all that you look for in a song-writer who reflects on life, love and everything after.

Review by Paul McGee

Hollow Hearts Peter Westergaard

Totally new to me, the impressive Hollow Hearts are a four piece from the far north of Norway, who clearly have been steeped in Americana as well as in their native Nordic folk music. Fans of First Aid Kit will detect some similarities but Hollow Hearts have their own distinct signature sound, marked by lushly layered vocals, skilfully wrought catchy melodies and gothic undertones. 

The last in a trilogy of albums based on the concept of a relationship between two protagonists, Peter and Annabelle, it is not necessary to understand this to enjoy the songs here, which chart the emotional rollercoaster of the dissolution of a relationship, a universal theme after all. 

Childhood memories are recalled in A Sailor’s Warning, the melody led by Mikael Pedersen Jacobsen on mandolin who switches effortlessly between drums, mandolin and also piano. The dual themes of water and weather are always to the forefront, never more so than in the outstanding Cold River, a truly beautiful song led by Ida Lovheim on vocals and accordion, with a slow build up, lush echoey harmonies and a haunting electric reverb-heavy guitar riff, courtesy of Christoffer Mathisen. I’ve Got Hope features an uplifting chorus that recalls Fleetwood Mac in its swelling multilayered chorus. Home For Him is a wistful country ballad, both in theme and in sound, dominated by Christoffer’s pedal steel playing.

Bassist and keyboard player Ida Karoline Norgard and Mikel Pedersen were members of a now defunct band, The Northern Lies. In fact, Ida also played bass with Linda Gail Lewis during her Nordic tours. They are joined by Ida Lovheim (accordion) and Christoffer Matthiessen on guitars, with two Idas being the main songwriters and vocalists. I certainly hope this band get the wider recognition that they deserve, beyond their current stomping grounds of Norway, Germany and Switzerland. 

Review by Eilís Boland

Jeffrey Foucault Blood Brothers Blue Blade

This album bleeds integrity. Another top-notch songwriter who has a brought together a selection of songs, some important players and a voice tinged with the patina of life. It manages to find its place in what is, often, an over-subscribed category with skill and talent. It is full of stories that one can be related to on a number of levels, whilst having a sound that is both comfortable and rewarding, even without absorbing yourself in the detail of these crafted tales. There is some level of observation at play from the seeming domesticity and straight forwardness of the opening track Dishes. The laid-back setting of that set of simple tasks is followed by the more effervescent guitar and pedal steel of War On The Radio. Foucault is joined by Tift Merritt for the intimate duet that is Blown. It features cello and Eric Haywood’s steel guitar to underline its sense of isolation. These are not straight stories but rather something more poetic that allows individual interpretation. Foucault is the author of these songs but on three occasions he has written the music with his drummer Billy Conway.

There is a sterling set of musicians and singers involved on the album including Jeremy Moses Curtis on bass, Bo Ramsey on guitars, as well some other notable guests like Pieta Brown, Kate Lorenz, Laurie Sargent alongside Merritt on additional vocals and Barbara Jean Meyers on violin and Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids) on acoustic guitar. These musicians are never intrusive or uneconomic with their contributions. Outside of the core players most feature on a single track but add to the overall context. It was recorded live back in 2017 over a three day period straight to tape in a studio in Minnesota, but the sound very much of the here and now.

Cheap Suits, Rio and I Know You are all imbedded with a simplicity and language that makes them worthy of individual attention though, in truth, everything here fits and is deserving to be heard. The components of love, loss, loneliness mingle with moments where a more intrusive world and its unforgiving political attutidues intertwine. Jeffery Foucault has, through the years, given us a number of albums that are literate and likeable and have explored different sound palates. Blood Brothers is a fine addition to that catalogue.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Ry Cavanaugh Time For This Self Release 

A tribute to a late, beloved father. This album has a back story in that Cavanaugh’s father George was a working musician who lead that life with all its uncertainty and chaos. In the late 70’s he played in a country band under the name of Bobby Pedd and played dates in the New York venue The Lone Star Cafe. However, in the 1980s the band and his life fell apart. He has been struggling with addiction and depression, which undoubtably framed some of Cavanaugh’s feelings about their relationship. This album is Ry’s take on nine of his father’s songs. 

They are played in an almost demo fashion with Cavanaugh being joined by Duke Levine on guitar and his wife Jennifer Kimball on vocals. It would seem that these songs document aspects of his father’s life with titles like Cold Wind, Too Tired For Drinking, Sink Or Swim, Gypsy Dad and Help Me Doctor. Seemingly recorded around a single microphone, they have a sparseness that is at odds with Cavanaugh’s recordings with his band Session Americana, but perfect to bring these songs back to the basic context. Given the underlying story, it adds a poignancy to one’s perception of these songs.

In this setting the voices blend with a closeness that is intimate and the guitars are also understated with enough dexterity to make take them to something beyond a simple strum. There is thought given here to the best way to present this legacy. Some have an immediate connectability (Lost Woman Song and the confessional Gypsy Dad) while others need a little more time to have their stories unfurl. This may be a sidestep from Cavanaugh’s main musical output but undoubtably an important one for him.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Stephen Fearing The Unconquerable Past Fish

In the opening lines of the first song Break Our Mother’s Heart Fearing sings of “leaving his hometown for salvation.’’ It is interesting to ponder if that refers to his birth town of Vancouver or the town he grew up in (Dublin), before he then left to return to Canada. Either way the song allows that his chosen lifestyle was going to break his mother’s heart. That lifestyle finds Fearing pursuing the route of a musician, a songwriter and travelling storyteller. In that light he succeeds admirably. He returns to the theme of leaving one’s homeland again in a song co-written with Andy White that considers the effect and the reasons why it is sometimes imperative to leave, to find oneself. There is a strong Celtic influence on the particular song that suits its mood well and emphasises its point in a musical context. The album itself, was recorded in Winnipeg and was produced by Fearing and Scott Nolan and a core band that also included such notable as Jim Hoke and Nolan himself on a myriad of instruments.

From the opening songs that are more folk oriented, we suddenly hit Stay With Me, an up-tempo rocker that reveal Fearing’s and the band’s scope and vision. The title song and later No Country return again to the theme of the traveller finding himself in less known territories. The latter song is played in a very stripped back way and is all the more effective for that. Marie, a tender ballad, also includes mention of the infamous brownshirts and the growing presence of those who now hold the high ground, and power and the glory that comes with that position. Sunny brings you inside the world of a transgender person and their search for love. 

Fearing’s themes are based on his own observations, seen and heard on his travels. His journey is one of empathy and engagement, which is best given light through his crafted songwriting and reflected vocals. With a number of noted troubadours leaving us, it is time to perhaps consider those that are still with us, still moving their abilities forward and trying to make sense of an increasingly crazy world. Fearing can be counted among them and this is one his best missives to date.

Review by Stephen Rapid

The Adobe Collective All The Space That There Is  Love Sands

This Joshua Tree based quintet play what is referred to a high desert sound and on this, their third album, have succeeded in living up to that cosmic Americana concoction of rock, roots and twang filled country and psychedelia. The Adobe Collective comprise of Tim and Faith Chinnock, the husband and wife duo who founded the band along with Caleb Winn, Chris Unci and Tyler Saraca. Their sound is one of layered textures, pinned by a solid rhythm section and flourishes of hard edge guitar and keyboards, all topped by strong vocal harmonies. It’s a sound that reflects the diverse nature of its influences and creation.

The album was self-produced and recorded in Unck’s studio High Lonesome Sound, which underlines the richness and variety of the location that is the Joshua Tree National Park. A location that is both unworldly and has an ageless deeply grounded sense of place. The album opens with the catchy dreamscape Carousel with its airy sound that, like the title suggests, reflects the movement and reacted light of such a fairground attraction. The next song Blind has a pop feel that brings to mind some of the West Coast bands of the mid-60s. By way of contrast the next few songs expand on this feel of exploration and harmonic possibility, allowing for different elements to be revealed on each play. The instrumentation manages to highlight different aspects of particular songs allowing, synth, organ, steel guitar sit alongside the slide and electric guitars to build up an overall sonic landscape, that allows the tight harmonies to give a human focus that is both effective and affecting.

But just as the more ethereal nature of the sound is established, they throw a curveball with the straight country sound of All I Know. This allows another aspect of the band’s influences to step forward and underline the fact that there are a number of different directions that the band are equally adept with. Shine On has a heavier sound that features the vocals of Tim and Faith and their combined harmonies and lead vocalists are the centrepiece to the sound of The Adobe Collective. There are songs included such as the closing Happy That It Hurts, that assume a slightly more unsettling ambience that creates a balance and contrast to the brighter moments that abound.

Overall this is a transportive album, that falls outside any number of strict classifications, yet is never at odds with itself. It may seek a specific type of listener to fully appreciate its charms, but they are revealed to those who wish to take the time to reach into the sun enriched heart of its collective space.

Review by Stephen Rapid

Album Reviews

Ad Vanderveen Final Refuge CRS

An invitation by Van Morrison to be his opening act is a compliment any singer songwriter would be proud of. Such was the positive impression Ad Vanderveen’s 2017 album WORLDS WITHIN made on Van the Man, that this gesture was made by him and gratefully accepted.

Dutch born but with Canadian parentage, Vanderveen has been performing solo, as a duo with Kersten de Ligny and with his electric band The O’Neils, throughout a career that spans over twenty-five years and boasts over thirty albums. Despite that output and its quality, he remains very much under the radar yet hugely regarded by his peers, which includes John Gorka, Dave Olney, Eliza Gilkyson and writer Joe Boyd, to name but a few.

His latest offering is an impressive collection of eleven songs, uncomplicated stories that visit simple every day occurrences, yet demand your undivided attention. Whereas many artists draw you in initially with melody, Vanderveen, in classic singer songwriter style, stops you in your tracks with his lyrics. Dylan’s Every Grain Of Sand is remodelled and covered, but it’s the original material that stands out. Know Yourself certainly does just that, a reminder of the power of our inner selves and our capabilities to self-cleanse and survive. Tinytown revisits times gone by and considers how particular people and places change over time, yet others appear timeless. Coming Home has a mid-70’s California ring to it. The Signet Ring, the album’s most powerful track, speaks of a broken and detached family and a path to forgiveness and healing.

You get the impression that Vanderveen never had ambitions to be a household name. More important to him has been his carefully measured and refined writing, always without compromise.  He has achieved this once again with FINAL REFUGE, another delightful chapter of stories, impressively put to music.

Review by Declan Culliton

American Pleasure Dome Self-Titled Self Release

Minneapolis four-piece band American Pleasure Dome have delivered a power pop and guitar driven gem in their up-tempo swirling debut album. Drawing on influences that range from brooding art pop to full on indie rock, they hardly draw breath from opener Time Wave to the closing track Sister Adelheid.

The band members listed are lead man and songwriter Hans Schumacher, who plays rhythm guitar, keyboards and is lead vocalist. Park Evans adds lead guitar, Brenda Shepherd is on bass and contributes backing vocals and Greg Shutte plays drums. This may be a moveable feast as the current line up on their website lists Lindsay Paine as guitarist and Joel Arpin as drummer.

Schumacher’s songwriting is both visionary and slick, his songs cover both the lighter and darker life spectrums. Obey That Bling considers the increasing influences and obsessions of the so-called reality TV world. Saint Grumpy drifts towards country, it’s a cleverly crafted tongue in cheek high five to his favourite bar tender. Dark Side is dark and brooding, recalling a close friend who tragically took his own life. Alcohol fuelled infidelity is the subject matter of Bad Girlfriend. Happy Pills dwells on the prescription drug epidemic in America. It boasts an infectious melody with equally poignant lyrics (‘The day has not been fun, life’s not for everyone’). The previously noted Time Wave is a raw edged opening track that wouldn’t sound out of place on an early REM offering.

Schumacher is a Buddhist, a painter, and self-confessed fantasy literature lover with music tastes that included Led Zeppelin, The Replacements and Rush. He’s waited until he reached the ripe age of 53 before recording this debut album with a simple explanation. ‘’Buddha said, the body ages, the mind doesn’t age.’’

Review by Declan Culliton

The Campfire Flies Sparks Like Little Stars OverPop

This is the debut album from a band of musicians and writers that reside in the New Jersey area. They are all multi-instrumentalists and all eleven tracks are performed, arranged and produced by the Campfire Flies.

The members are John Baumgartner (vocals, keyboard, accordion, percussion), Toni Baumgartner (vocals, flute, recorder, clarinet, percussion), Matthew Davis (vocals, guitar, bass, percussion), Jon Fried (vocals, banjo, guitar, bass), Ed Seifert (vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica) and Deena Shoshkes (vocals, guitar, bass, percussion).

The sound is very much Folk/Roots based with acoustic arrangements that contain great melody lines and which allow the musicians room to flex their individual talents. With all six members providing vocals, it is hard to know who is singing on specific tracks but suffice to say that the harmonies are really strong and full of nuance in their delivery. 

John’s Song is particularly memorable with a great arrangement and vocals that dove tail in and out of the melody, underpinned by the piano playing of John Baumgartner.  I’m Not Changing My Mind (Ed Seifert) has a nice tempo and a warm sound, as does the Piano-led melody of Lost My Place In A Small Town (Matthew Davis). 

I Can’t Find A Place That Feels Like Home (Ed Seifert) is a song that highlights the fine harmony vocals again with some nice flute playing by John Baumgartner. Waiting To Shine (Matthew Davis) has a dreamy quality in the arrangement and some nice restrained guitar lines while Deep Water (John Baumgartner) is another piano based song that highlights the ensemble singing across the sweet melody. Way Way Back (Deena Shoshkes) has a traditional air about it with accordion and harmonica fitting in perfectly with the song arrangement. 

All the players are involved in other bands and came together for this project to explore each other’s songs that didn’t quite fit on prior records and to share their love for playing together with no boundaries.  One can almost the band sitting in a circle around a campfire and teasing out these tunes in the warmth of a starry night and a few shared bottles of inspiration to keep the spirits high.

Review by Paul McGee

The Truehearts Songs For Spike Self Release

The Truehearts are singer-songwriting duo, Debra Buonaccorsi (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Steve McWilliams (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars). They originally performed as The Hummingbyrds and moved to Nashville some years ago. This debut release was co-produced by them, along with Dave Coleman (baritone guitar and percussion), in East Nashville and the other players featured are Pete Pulkrabek (drums), Brian Hinchliffe (bass) and Coleman 

There are additional musicians with Richard Bailey of the Steeldrivers playing banjo (one track) and Paul Niehaus of Calexico playing pedal steel guitar (two tracks). There are also horns on the opening track, Won’t It Be Something, featuring Diego Vasquez (trombone) and Robert Gay (trumpet). No credits for the piano that appears on closing track, Goodbye, but apart from this oversight, the music is both varied and interesting. Across ten tracks and some 38 minutes, they touch upon Pop (Milky Way/Won’t It Be Something), Americana (Goodbye), country (Let It Sing/PFC Frankie Walker), rock (32nd Street), rhythm and blues (Mamzelle Marie), reggae (Hey Hey), and folk (Late July) music. 

The harmonies are excellent throughout with the solo vocals of Debra particularly sweet and strong. The songs are melodic and well produced but with so many styles covered, it is hard to place a definitive stamp on the Truehearts overall sound – not that it’s a bad thing to be able to move across genres with their range of influences.

Review by Paul McGee

Brad Byrd Phases Elusive Tiger

This is the fourth album from an artist who first came to media attention back in 2005. His sound is a cross between Americana and country rock with plenty to recommend the ten songs included here. Released on his own label, Byrd draws on all his experience as a musician to mix the dynamic of That Great Feeling, an up-tempo arrangement, with more reflective tracks, like Is There Another Way.

Sunset Girl has a cool acoustic melody and takes a look back at a relationship that has influenced everything that followed. Lies is a slow burn with some nice guitar playing on top of the easy rhythm and horn backing. American Life is a duet with Kay Hanley of Letters To Cleo fame that simmers and builds to a satisfactory climax. 1982 has a strong rock beat and a good band workout and Vampires is more reflective and layered.

Another Direction and All For You are both gentle arrangements that highlight restrained and understated playing and the sense that all musicians were very much in the moment. Closing track, The Stars Are Out Tonight, Boy is a highlight, with atmospheric touches on guitar and a slow groove that ends things in real style. No information arrived with this CD so I hope I am accurate in saying that Byrd is joined by John Kimbrough (electric guitar, piano, keys), Matt Pendergast (piano), David Ralicke (bass) while he contributes on lead vocal, drums and guitars. Bryan Cook, John Kimbrough, Matt Pendergast and Byrd himself took on co-production and mixing duties in what was clearly a collaborative affair. Does it work? Most definitely - these are very engaging songs that are filled with nice moments and fine playing. 

Review by Paul McGee

Sonny James The Capitol Years 1963-1972 Hump Head

Sonny James, was a country singer who also crossed over into the Pop arena and proved very popular during his reign in the 1960’s and into the 1970’s. He had 23 number one hits, starting with his teen ballad, Young Love and he was known for his revivals of old pop and rhythm n’ blues hits. He also broadened country music's appeal across the nation and during the late '60s, he had a five-year run of number one singles which held the top spot for a combined 45 weeks. He was vocally seen as similar to other stars at the time, such as, Ray Price, Charlie Pride and Conway Twitty. Included here are 50 tracks and favourites like Take Good Care Of Her, Heaven Says Hello, Don’t Keep Me Hanging On, Here Comes Honey Again, It’s The Little Things and Behind The Tear. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, James was never really accepted by a number of the purist brigade who favoured a more traditional approach but his legacy on this release stands against any such narrow view.

Review by Paul McGee

Bobby Goldsboro With Pen In Hand Hump Head

During the 1960’s this artist caused quite a stir on the radio and the charts with a number of top selling singles, among them the million seller Honey, a song that pulled at the heartstrings of a generation. He also had the gift of crossing over between the pop and country genres with his voice and his clean-cut image very representative of the times – the kind of guy you would want your daughter to bring home.

His popularity lasted through to the 1970’s and only began to lose momentum as the succeeding decades brought new generations with different musical preferences and tastes. Indeed, the production on many of the songs included here is very thin and lacking in real depth, making a lot of the songs sound similar. What is never in doubt is the clear, melodic voice that Goldsboro used to great effect. His sound falls into the broad area of perhaps, Pat Boone, Gene Pitney or Bobby Vee. There is a total of 50 songs included on this 2-CD Hits collection that covers his output for the United Artists record label between 1964 and 1976. Most of the favourites are here, from See The Funny Little Clown, to Summer (The First Time), plus Autumn Of My Life and It’s Too Late.

There are some omissions like It Breaks My Heart, or The Cowgirl And The Dandy (covered by Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton and John Denver), but most of the recognised hits are included.  Goldsboro played guitar in Roy Orbison's backing band in the 1960’s and there are clear hints of the great man in some of the song arrangements. He also had his songs covered by many artists, including Aretha Franklin, Dr John, Johnny Cash and Bette Midler. If you grew up with this music then a trip down the nostalgia highway is something you will enjoy, otherwise, this collection stands as very much a product of the decade in which music was finding its way towards a crossroads with plenty of new signposts.

Review by Paul McGee

Michael McArthur Ever Green, Ever Rain Dark River

This was a pleasant surprise, so late into the year. The artist is from Florida and released a few EP’s and singles since 2012, culminating in a compilation release in 2017, titled FOR ELAINE. Clearly an influence on his life and creative muse, Elaine is the title of one of the 12 tracks included on this 2019 album. 

McArthur released it on his own label, Dark River Records, which he founded in 2018. He took a lot of songs that were written in Florida during a sabbatical from the music industry and  travelled to Hollywood, California to hone down the writing with producer Ryan Freeland, a five-time Grammy Award winner who has worked with, among others, Bonnie Raitt, Ray LaMontagne, Aimee Mann, Joe Henry, Grant-Lee Phillips, Loudon Wainwright III and Rodney Crowell.

There was no information with the CD but if my research is accurate, studio musicians who sat in on the project were Steven Nistor (drums, percussion), Paul Bryan (bass), Lee Pardini (piano, keyboards), Jebin Bruni (keyboards), Josh Davis (guitars) and Dan Kalisher (guitar, pedal steel, bass). They gathered at United Recording Studios in Los Angeles, where McArthur sang and played live with the band, finishing these 12 tracks in just four days.  An impressive achievement and the quality of these musicians is true testament to the ability to pull this off. Terrific ensemble playing and a great sound that draws you into the warm embrace that is McArthur’s vocal, not unlike Ray LaMontagne in timbre. His sensitive delivery and winsome quality mark out these songs as coming from a deeply personal place and whereas the lyrics are not always easy to hear, the mood and sentiment of the arrangements win out every time. 

Stand-out tracks, among the twelve songs included, are Simple Kindness, We Live and We Die, Rest’s Unknown, Warmer Months, A Conversation Before Bed, Wild In The Blood and the closing title track that looks towards a future with a perspective gained from the past and all the life lessons learned. Quietly superb.

Review by Paul McGee

Dan Navarro Shed My Skin Red Hen

This is the first solo release from an artist that has travelled a long road in the industry and gathered many accolades along the way. Known as part of the acclaimed acoustic duo, Lowen & Navarro, until Eric Lowen’s retirement in 2009 (and passing in 2012), Navarro is also a voice actor and singer in major films, TV ads and TV shows. As a songwriter he has written for Pat Benatar, The Bangles, Dave Edmunds, The Temptations and Dionne Warwick, among many others.  

This record starts with the title track, a slow, acoustic number that deals with moving on and keeping light. Night Full of Rain is a cover and a metaphor for a relationship that is going through a stormy patch with the hope that all will be better in the morning. The production from Steve Postell is quite superb with just the right touch of space and balance in the playing and the song arrangements. 

Bulletproof Heart is another love-based theme, while Straight To The Heart Of Me is an invite to share the journey and be open with everything along the path. Arrows is another relationship song where he assures a friend that he will always be there as a support and a comfort. Let Her Ride is a warning to stay away from a broken relationship and a dangerous partner in the game of love. Ghosts is a rueful look at past mistakes and the memories that linger over the road not taken. Hard For Me Now follows a similar theme with it being difficult to walk away from something that was once so fine and strong.

You Drove Me Crazy, another cover, has a tex-mex rhythm that just rolls easily along and features Janiva Magness on co-vocals, as the song laments a love destroyed by crimes of passion and a jail as the final companion. New Year’s Day is about starting over and beginning with a clean slate, leaving the past baggage down and running free. Sweet Sixteen is a cover of the Billy Idol track and Navarro’s version of Wichita Lineman is perhaps a better example of his fine song interpretation skills, infused with sweet soul and a gentle groove. 

Navarro has a strong and warm vocal that leads these songs while the playing of the studio musicians lifts the arrangements into a sweet spot. Navarro (acoustic guitar, percussion, vocal) is joined by Steve Postell (electric, acoustic guitars, vocals), David Glasser (mandolin, octave mandolin), Phil Parlapiano (accordion, piano, organ), Jon Ossman (upright Bass), Brendan Buckley (drums), Debra Dobkin (percussion), Tony Furtado (banjo), Joel Tepp (harmonica) and Aubrey Richmond (violin). 

Studio guests on specific tracks include Leland Sklar, Danny Kortchmar, Wendy Waldman, Freebo, Grace Pettis, Janiva Magness, Bob Malone, Butch Norton, Brother Sun, Peter Adams, Dennis Edwards and each contributes to what is a really sophisticated project with excellent results. 

Review by Paul McGee

Album Reviews

Gill Landry Skelton At The Banquet Loose

A former New Orleans busker and member of Old Crow Medicine Show, Gill Landry has been quite prolific since parting with that band in 2014. SKELETON IN THE BANQUET is his fifth solo recording since then and was conceived during last summer, when Landry retreated to a small flat in a Western French village, to gather his thoughts and reflect on present day America and more personal matters. A multi-instrumentalist, Landry contributes vocals, guitars, pedal steel, keys & harmonica on the album, alongside his co-producer Seth Ford-Young playing bass, Josh Collazo on drums, Stewart Cole on trumpet and Odessa Jorgensen on violin.

Landry’s solo work is far removed from his work with OCMS. His relaxed baritone vocals, aided by accomplished playing throughout, impress on the nine tracks that feature on the album. It’s a collection of unhurried, contemplative songs, often dark and wistful, reflecting on relationships both fulfilled (I Love You Too) and doomed (Angeline). With its swirling pedal steel twang, the former creates visions of hand in hand walks on sun drenched beaches. The latter represents the opposite end of the spectrum, a harmonica intro and Dylan like up-tempo delivery, which launch into a bitter breakup rant. The Refuge of Your Arms, probably influenced by his stay in France, is a tender waltz like stroll, recollecting past comforts sadly missed. The beautifully punctuated and melodic A Different Tune recalls Veracruz by the late Warren Zevon.

Landry’s luxurious low-pitched vocal delivery mirror mid-career Leonard Cohen on the gloriously uncluttered Nobody’s Calling. The apocalyptic Trouble Town, with a similar vocal delivery, paints a picture of impending hopelessness and despair. Perhaps a reflection on the present day political and environmental turmoil, it closes with a simple appeal ‘’Captain let’s turn this ship around.’’

SKELETON AT THE BANQUET follows in a similar vein to Landry’s previous album LOVE RIDES A DARK HORSE. Its minimalistic, laid back and brooding approach perfectly captures an artist at the top of his game. Late night candle light listening of the highest calibre and a wonderful album to kick off a new decade.

Review by Declan Culliton

The Southern Fold Bible Fear Self Release

Dark events, characters and phenomena are explored by The Southern Fold across thirteen tracks on BIBLE FEAR, their debut full album. The recording follows their mini album A TRUE ASCENSION FROM THE WAYWARD PATH, which was released back in 2016.

The Southern Fold are Emlyn Holden (Vocals, Guitar, Banjo), Laura Hand (Vocals), Brian McGrath (Bass), Cian Doolan (Guitar) and Jamie Fitzpatrick (Drums). They cite their influences to include both Hank Williams and Nirvana, but their core sound is best described as Gothic Americana, bringing to mind the early output of both Willard Grant Conspiracy and The Handsome Family. The material on the album is entirely self-written by Holden, with the exception of a re-modelling of the traditional song Run On. It’s a powerful showcase of creative and fanciful song writing, covering the emotional baggage of religious torment, damnation and redemption. Writing aside, the real winner here is the vocals of both Holden and Hand, a combination that impresses throughout.

Hold Back The Sun, the album’s first track, kicks off with acoustic guitar alongside those combined vocals, recalling the unlikely yet potent musical marriage of Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell, when they joined forces in 2006 with BALLAD OF THE BROKEN SEAS. It’s a comparison that repeats on a number of occasions on the album. The evocative and deathly Sunday Best is a dark late-night listen, that unites Holden on banjo alongside splashes of accordion, compliments of Ger Moloney.  

Jesus Christ & The Holy Ghost (Not Taken In Vain) is a swinging country affair, laced with mournful pedal steel guitar by David Murphy. It’s particularly easy on the ear and radio friendly, though unfortunately the title is most likely to exclude it from our national radio airwaves. Murphy also collaborates on God Is A Ghost, another mellow country ballad that bookends the album. Blood OF Life is torrid and mischievous, bluesy with a twang. Run On (For A Long Time) and The Devil In Me are both on the same page, stomping toe tapping country blues. Save Your Soul enters gospel territory, showcasing two vocals perfectly balanced and on the same page. No - One Is My Name is a dreamy ballad with Hand’s hypnotic and simply gorgeous lead vocal impeccably complimented by background cello from Ella Englishby.

Released at the busiest time of the year towards the tail end of 2019, let’s hope it doesn’t get overlooked by both the press and buying public.Make no mistake, this is a quality product that compares more than favourably alongside the darker side of roots music being recorded by well-established acts in The States. BIBLE FEAR is further evidence, if we needed it, of the exceptional quality on our own doorsteps and an album that should take pride of place on the shelf of any serious Americana supporter.

Review by Declan Culliton

Session Americana North East Self Release

Session Americana are a Boston folk collective consisting of core members Ry Cavanaugh, Billy Beard, Dinty Child, Jon Bistline and Jim Fitting. This album, their seventh recording, reunites them with a host of talented musicians best described as part time members, who join the band on stage or in the studio occasionally. These contributors are John Powhida, Rose Polenzani, Kris Delmhorst, Isa Burke, Duke Levine, Merrie Amsterberg, Peter Linten, Jason Anick, Dietrich Strause, Zap Trojano, Jennifer Kimball, Ali McGrath and Jeffrey Foucault. NORTH EAST finds the band exploring songs and songwriters of North Eastern America, music with roots predominately in English traditional music, unlike the music of the South which often developed from Irish and Scottish beginnings.

The tunes chosen to cover include a selection of recent and not so recent compositions.  The James Taylor song Riding On a Railroad opens the album with a somewhat more up tempo offering than the more laid-back original. You’ll Never Get To Heaven, written by Bill Morrissey, explores the once bustling mill towns, now practically deserted. The Pixies Here Comes Your Man is reconstructed and delightfully countrified and Jonathan Richman’s Roadrunner is delivered in Dylanesque style. Others featured include Patty Griffin’s Goodbye and the album standout track, a rousing delivery of Tom Rush’s Merrimac County.

The album was intended to revisit and represent both the Old-World Charm and New World grit of New England and does exactly that. A delightful selection of well-chosen songs, impressively packaged and easy on the ear.

Review by Declan Culliton

Darling West We’ll Never Know Unless We Try Jansen

Another act from Norway that are making lengthy strides under the emerging Nordicana genre, Darling West are duo Mari Kreken and Tor Egil Kreken. They have spent quite some time in The United States in recent years, honing their sound and gaining invaluable experience while touring there and networking with similar minded people.  Included in their collection of friends is Nashville ‘man about town’ Aaron Lee Tasjan, who together with Ohio alt-rocker Erika Blinn, collaborated with them on True Friends, the only song of the nine on the album not composed by the duo.

Together with a steady stream of artists from Norway, earning recognition in the Americana world by recording material with alt-folk leanings, Darling West’s sound is somewhat more sugar-coated, a blend of well-crafted melodic pop songs, alongside some dreamy ballads.  Much of the material was written while they were in Nashville and on tour across the U.S.A. Whereas a large portion of the material being released in that part of the world at present, is a reflection of the turbulent political climate and its consequences, the theme of WE’LL NEVER KNOW UNLESS WE TRY is somewhat more positive, concentrating on hopefulness rather than hopelessness. Winners of the prestigious Spellemann (Norwegian Grammy) in 2016 with their debut album VINYL AND A HEARTACHE, this is their third release and with its mid-tempo sound and glorious harmonies has all the ingredients to qualify for commercial radio airplay. Make It Last and Can’t Help It, the first single from the album, particularly succeeds in this regard.

Americana, to my mind, is stretching the imagination in categorising WNKUWT. It’s a polished and impressive offering leaning towards the mainstream pop market and perfectly suited to what currently dominates the airwaves in America’s Country Music Radio Stations.

Review by Declan Culliton

Genevieve Charbonneau Heart Is A Tower Self Release

This singer-songwriter is based on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where she lives a life that is centred around homesteading activities as a Mother and provider for three children. 

This album is her third release and it was recorded at a state-of-the-art studio at Shawnigan Lake School. Her children attend the school and it was her meeting with music teacher Jack Connolly that led to him becoming involved as producer and player on the project. A fine job he makes of it too, with lots to admire across the eleven songs featured here. The album is a very enjoyable experience and the central themes running through the songs revolve around Family and relationships.

Her Father, Gerry Auger, contributes one song, Lonesome City, about a parents’ perspective when his child wanted to leave home and go into the World to explore her hopes and dreams. He also co-wrote another song, Here’s To Hereafter, which looks at a life lived and the legacy that gets handed down from grandfather to grandchildren with all the joy and insight that experience teaches. 

All other songs are written by Charbonneau and from the title track about love gained and lost, with superb fiddle and cello, to the closing song, Thank You, a love letter to her life partner, Daniel, who keeps everything running smoothly when she is out touring “Thank you for letting me share my heart with strangers, Every time I take the stage” – the ensemble deliver beautifully realised melodies and harmony singing of the highest standard. The contentment of living in the moment is captured on No Other Time, with superb mandolin and banjo parts. Wilderness talks about feeling trapped in the city and needing to break free, with some great banjo playing on this track.

Queen Of Hearts looks at love now departed and looking back at what once was – some great Bluegrass playing and superb fiddle from Ivonne Hernandez. She features strongly throughout and her playing on Hit A Wall, a song about breakdown and meltdown, with an up-tempo beat and catchy drum shuffles from Brian Horwitz is a real joy. Empty Dresses is a song about the missing and murdered girls and women in Canada and was inspired by an Art installation in Winnipeg. The song could also be taken as a cry out against the inequality and suppression that women have suffered for generations. Not Enough Love dissects the state of the World with a side look at a personal relationship that is also going through hard times, “What is to blame? Our ignorant tongues, The forums are many and cheap.” 

Jack Connolly also contributes on acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and vocals, together with Brian Horwitz (drums), Alex Rempel (upright bass), Daniel Lapp (fiddle, on 3 songs), Eli Bender (cello), Peter Reid (banjo) and Jessica Blakney (vocals). Quite an impressive line-up of local talent and they all contribute in bringing great nuance to the bright, mellow and wistful tunes on display.

Charbonneau also plays and sings with her all-female band, Genevieve and the Wild Sundays, all of whom are featured on this solo album, with Ivonne Hernandez (fiddle, vocals), Kelly Sherwin (vocals), Chandra Crowe (mandolin) and Laura Carleton (vocals) adding greatly to the warm textures of the song arrangements.  

Previous releases were UPDRAFT (2014) and FINE LINE (2016), recorded with the Wild Sundays, and both received great praise among the folk/roots and bluegrass music community. She has also been a long-time member of the award-winning Balkan Babes, in addition to joining Jack Connolly as the performing duo, Heartland. As if all this activity was not enough, Charbonneau also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre and is a trained dancer and choreographer, together with her involvement in a movement linking volunteers with organic farmers and growers, to promote cultural and educational experiences, based on trust and non-monetary exchange – all helping to build a sustainable, global community.

Here is a wonderful story of self-sufficiency and having travelled throughout the USA and Mexico in younger years, then joining a crew on a yacht to complete a world circumnavigation, Charbonneau channelled her energies in to building a home on 10 acres purchased with some like-minded souls and beginning an adventure, while integrating with the local community. Sounds like that original hippie dream that so many wanted to embrace but never had the courage, or fortitude, to follow through upon.

Review by Paul McGee

Emily Duff Hallelujah Hello Self Release

Born in New York city and the survivor of a tough childhood, this artist has been described by Rolling Stone Magazine as, “One Part Patti Smith, One Part Muscle Shoals.” Interesting then, that Emily decided to record her second album at Muscle Shoals in 2017, titled MAYBE IN THE MORNING. 

On this, her third release, she again returned to the legendary FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Featuring an All-Star Band of veteran Muscle Shoals musicians, including members of the original Fame Gang, Emily Duff comes tearing out of the traps on the opener, Hallelujah Hello, with a blues-rock groove that lays down a firm marker for the rest of the album. It is reminiscent of Tina Turner with the powerful arrangement, backing horn section and singers, giving a full sound. 

She then switches to a country/gospel sound with Get In The Water and the feeling of redemption is present in the warm organ sound, handclaps, harmony vocals and addictive beat. The next track, You, You, You, has a blues-based sound with a laid-back beat and plenty to admire in the horn playing of Brad Guin on tenor sax solo and also Ken Watters on trumpet with Billy Bargetzi on trombone.

You Better Believe is another blues track with plenty of soul in the vocal from Duff. Backing singers Marie Lewey, Cindy Walker and James LeBlanc really excel on this number and the production across all twelve tracks by John Gifford III is just full of bright separation and big sound attack. Many of the tracks have a big choral sound and a full horn backing that adds to the dynamic.

Eggs All Day is back to a Country sound with understated playing by the band, which highlights Duff and her vocal skills in adding authenticity to the words which speak of resting in the arms of the Lord when he calls you home. Pedal Steel and dobro from Wayne Bridge are particularly strong on this track. Jesus Love This Tired Woman could be autobiographical in the words about a life lived on the edge of breaking down, yet holding on for the sake of your sanity and for others. It’s one of the highlights on the album and the slow tempo really shows off the restrained quality in the playing. 

The Day He Walked has a Stones groove with a great rhythm and blues arrangement and soulful singing from Duff to compliment the guitar lines of Will MacFarlane/Kelvin Holley. She has a powerful vocal, full of colour and character, especially on the superb Loved Blues, with another acoustic beginning, relaxed front porch playing and gentle melody. 

We All Need Savin’ Sometime is a rockabilly sound with great piano from Clayton Ivey who also provides the Hammond B3 organ sound throughout the project. The rhythm section of Bob Wray and Justin Holder really anchor the songs with some stellar playing and they can be heard in all their glory on this track as it drives along. Trust The Lord is another blues workout with a vocal that reminds me of Janis Joplin and some fine guitar work to build the dynamic. Heaven Is Where I’m Bound is a traditional Bluegrass/Gospel sound with an acoustic guitar, fiddle, dobro accompaniment from the band. The final track, The Fall, has a slow blues arrangement that eases the body and soul.

Duff has clearly found a spiritual home at Muscle Shoals and the quality of her writing and singing, together with the quality of the studio musicians, is what lifts this album far beyond the ordinary. It is a joy from start to finish and comes highly recommended.

Review by Paul McGee

Mara Levine Facets Of Folk Self Release

On her website, Mara describes herself as a “New Jersey based singer, recording artist, jewellery designer and interpreter of fine and contemporary Folk songs.” This perfectly highlights the creative muse of this artist who releases her third album, co-produced with both Bob Harris and John Guth.

Bob Harris also plays guitar on six songs while John Guth contributes various guitars, bass and string arrangements across five tracks. Other notable contributions are from Caroline Cutroneo, vocals and rhythm guitar (two tracks) and Terry Kitchen, on his own song, A Perfect Rose. It is the rich vocal harmonies that stand above everything else in the song arrangements however. The melodies are beautifully constructed and delivered with Gathering Time (Hillary Foxsong/ Stuart Markus/ Gerry McKeveny) contributing on five songs.

Josh Joffin duets on Child Of Mine, with Jan Alba on subtle flute and Harris/Juth combining on guitar accompaniment. Some of the songs are chosen for the times in which we live and the message of Daughters and Sons (Tommy Sands), Be The Change (Arlon Bennett) and By My Silence (Ellen Bukstel and Nick Annis) cannot be overstated. 

There are songs of love, Song For The Asking (Paul Simon), Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye (Leonard Cohen) and Bitter Green (Gordon Lightfoot); chances missed (The Moment Slipped Away); protecting Salmon spawning ground (Upstream) and being true to yourself (You Reap What You Sow). 

Other musicians who appear on various songs are; Kim and Reggie Harris, Robin Greenstein, Michael G. Ronstadt, Ed Trickett, Harold Morton, Sean McComiskey, Barbara Novick, Cheryl Prashker, Tilman Reitzle, Akiva Wharton and Patrice Avsharian Wiseman.

This is a celebration of what makes contemporary Folk music a compelling genre; steeped in fine melody, harmony singing to excite and arrangements to keep the listener engaged at every turn. 

Review by Paul McGee

Alice Howe Visions Know Howe

This is the debut album from a singer songwriter who delivers ten tracks, four of which are co-writes with producer Freebo, who also contributes on fretless bass and harmony vocals. It’s quite a coup to secure a high-profile name like Freebo to produce your debut album and it says something of the talent that Alice Howe displays. She met Freebo at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in 2016 and he ended up inviting her to record at Aum studios, Bakersfield, Southern California. 

Having played with Bonnie Raitt for a decade and collaborated/performed with artists like Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Loudon Wainwright III, Neil Young, Dr. John, Ringo Starr and more, Freebo was in the perfect place to influence the songs that Howe brought to these recording sessions. Of the four co-writes, Getaway Car stands out with its textured arrangement and horn section, provided by Lee Thornburg (trumpet, trombone) and Paul Perez (tenor and baritone saxophones). The one song that Howe wrote herself, What We Got Is Gold, is another highlight and shows off her clear vocals with some nice accompaniment on accordion from John Thomas (JT).

Other players on the album are John Molo (drums), Fuzzbee Morse (electric guitar), Jeff Felder (dobro/electric slide guitar), Al Keith (congas), Augie Howe (harmony vocals), Geoff Goodhue (mandolin) and JT also contributes on Hammond b-3 organ and electric piano. The players are all quite superb and colour the songs with just the right amount of gentle tones and rounded rhythm.

Somewhat surprised by the number of covers on this debut album, five in total. While Howe does each song justice, I have to wonder whether we could have had perhaps another two of her own compositions to limit the impression of relying on a safe and secure cover to fill out the project. She sings and plays acoustic guitar on Honey Bee (Muddy Waters), Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke), Lovin’ In My Baby’s Eyes (Taj Mahal), Too Long at the Fair (Joel Zoss) and Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (Bob Dylan) and while they all sound very pleasing in the listening, I would have liked more insight into the writing of Howe. Twilight and Still On My Mind are two songs that use the imagery of nature and the ocean, one looking towards the future and the challenges ahead; the other, a look back to an old flame that still lingers on her mind. 

Review by Paul McGee

The Heart Of Heartland I Loved Her First Permian

Back in 2006, Heartland, a band from Huntsville, Alabama released a debut album, I Loved Her First. The title song went to the top of the Billboard Country music charts and a big future looked on the cards for this 6-piece group.

Sadly, their career never took off and failure to land any hits with their next 5 singles, together with a change of record label, signalled a death knell for the original band. By 2012, the only members left were Jason Albert and Chuck Crawford. In that same year they released a new single on Permian Records, a label they had joined in 2009 but since that time there has been no real media news about the band.

So, it was something of a surprise to receive this 2019 release, again on Permian Records, with two of the ten tracks featured having first appeared on the original and only studio album that the band released. Thirteen years later there is still involvement from Albert and Crawford, both of whom perform on the new record and there is also mention of another original member, Keith West, as playing a part. Unfortunately, there is no other information to assist regarding who plays on these new songs and whether the band are planning to support the release with a tour.

Featuring guest appearances from Tracy Lawrence and Samantha Crawford, this release was co-produced by Walt Aldridge (who produced the original album) and James Stroud (who produced the 2012 single, The Sound a Dream Makes), both of whom continue their involvement with the band.

The tracks are rooted in traditional country values and are very radio-friendly in sound. Solid country songs performed with a sincerity and a belief that small town families still take pride in an honest day’s work. Songs like Thank God For The Hard Times, My Daddy Did and Judge A Man By The Woman all display the beliefs of the American heartland.

There are love songs too, with Let Go, I Know Enough To Know and Sideways looking at different sides to relationships. Angel deals with drug addiction and is written by Crawford, while Slow Down is a look back to younger days and being a new parent juxtaposed with the challenges faced with a daughter, now a teenager. Final track, When Love Comes Around, is a duet with Albert and Samantha Crawford singing sweetly about a special love and not letting go.  

Review by Paul McGee

Latest Lonesome Album Reviews

Warren Storm Taking The World By Storm APO

Thanks to Karen Leipziger at KL Productions, Nashville for sending this album my way. As the year winds down, the opportunity to properly listen to music with a late release date gets quite constrained and the instinct is to review all that has gone before in 2019 as the ‘Best Of’ lists begin to take shape… That said, the search for real quality never ceases for a music reviewer and this project is a case to prove the point.

Swamp Pop grew out of the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and parts of Texas. One of the founding fathers was Warren Storm, a drummer and singer, who influenced the genre in the 1950’s. It is a combination of Cajun, Rhythm and Blues, Country, Zydeco and Creole music, which was the foundation for what became Swamp Rock during the 1960’s with artists such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ronnie Hawkins, Little Feat, The Band, Leon Russell, Delaney & Bonnie and Tony Joe White taking up the baton and running with a modern sound.

Warren Storm has always kept a very strong work ethic and with a career that has spanned over seventy years, now, at the age of eighty-two, he has recorded a career defining work that includes many of the legendary musicians that populated the Louisiana dance hall music scene. There are a number of famous guests that appear across the eleven tracks selected here and among them, Sonny Landreth, Marc Broussard, John Fogerty and producer Yvette Landry take vocal parts and a place at the table to celebrate this amazing artist and his career.

Indeed, this is a real labour of love for Landry, who not only produces the album and sings, but also wrote a biography of this musical icon who still sounds very able and strong when it comes to delivering his rich vocals. All tracks are well known and given quite a compelling airing by the musicians who brought their vast experience and talent to the studio. Joining Warren Storm for this live studio recording, which was done straight to two-track tape, are Eric Adcock (piano), Roddie Romero (guitar), Chris French (bass), Gary Usie (drums) and Derek Hudson (sax). This core band are joined on various tracks by Richard Comeaux (pedal steel), Beau Thomas (fiddle), Willie “Tee” Trahan (tenor sax) and Sonny Landreth (slide guitar).

Long As I Can See The Light (John Fogerty) sets the perfect pace for the rest of the album and the band excel with plenty of superb playing, including the pedal steel and piano on Tennessee Blues (Bobby Charles) and the drum shuffle and horns on Troubles, Troubles (JD Miller). Lonely Nights (Earl King/Melvin Howard Steals) has a refined Blues sound and some fine piano and guitar parts while My House Of Memories (Merle Haggard) has a slow groove with some superb sax playing. In My Moments Of Sorrow (Jerry West) has piano and horns to the fore and a great guest vocal from Landry and the closer, Raining In My Heart (James Moore/Jerry West) is a standard Blues delivery with guitar, piano and sax riffs that bring everything home in some style.  A terrific companion to the biography TAKING THE WORLDS BY STORM that contains many anecdotes and stories together with memorabilia and photographs.

Hannah Rose Platt Letters Under Floorboards Continental Song City

This talented singer songwriter originally learned her craft in Liverpool and over time, established herself on the London circuit. Her debut album, Portraits, appeared in 2015 and was recorded at Tree Top Studios, Nashville. It received quite a lot of positive media reaction and now we are given a second release, recorded in East Sussex.  Production is shared by Platt and Thomas Collison and the eleven tracks here are all superbly played, produced and written.

Josephine is an impressive song that celebrates the life of Josephine Baker, an American-born French entertainer, French Resistance agent, and civil rights activist. Her career was primarily in Europe and she was the first African-American to star in a major motion picture. She was also a famous dancer at the Folies Bergère in Paris during the Jazz Age and the 1920’s.

When Audrey Came To Call is a song about one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the USA and in 1957 it killed approx. 500 people, the majority of whom were in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Platt’s ability to place herself into the lives of different characters is highlighted in the superbly crafted Brooklyn, New York which tells of an Irish emigrant who looks for a new beginning in America and the opportunity to bring his sweetheart out to join him, once he has established himself. It is a winsome look at failed dreams and the playing by Platt on acoustic, electric guitar, pennywhistle and fiddle conjures up the imagery of an Irish traditional tune in the arrangement, played in memory of many thousands of other emigrants who suffered similar fates in forlorn attempts to chase a dream. 

I Will Tell You When is a co-vocal with Sid Griffin that tells of rural farming and crops completely destroyed by a plague of swarming Locusts. It examines the reasons why a man would want to try and endure in the face of such a catastrophe and has a father sheltering his daughter from the darkening skies and trying to protect her against her suffocating fears; “My Daddy changer forever, The day the Locusts came.”

Chanel and Cigarettes is a sinister tale of a Ghost temptress seeking revenge on any who would try and cheat on their marriage vows. Again, the arrangement is very engaging and a fine example of Platt’s ability to spin a tale within a short song structure. However, it is the more personal songs that give a clue as to where this talented artist is currently laying her aim and her focus; songs like To Love You  and Sculptor look at doomed relationships from different angles – the former an unequal balance of strength and weakness where the lines “Here’s to the warning signs, And all that we’re leaving behind.” The latter, an abusive controlling partner who tries to manipulate another into what he desires, ignoring the real person involved. 

Illuminate speaks of self-awareness and growing from experience to never lose track of who you are. Your Way includes the lines that form the album title and the song appears to be a power struggle between friends for some common ground in their friendship. It could also be looked at from the viewpoint of someone who has passed on yet still retains an unhealthy control over another. “I’ll take your regrets, And flush them all away.” Equally, Checkmate and Black Smoke centre around relationships and the need for one to see through another and let go of an unhealthy situation. Thomas Collison contributes on bass, lap steel, acoustic and electric guitars, keys, drums, percussion, wurlitzer and sound effects – not a bad wing-man to have in the studio and as co-producer! Platt herself is an accomplished musician, also contributing on double bass, sound effects, percussion in addition to the instruments already mentioned above. Danny George Wilson appears on vocal duties together with a number of other studio musicians who all add to the confident sound and delivery of this engaging release. A confident and comprehensive move forward. 

Cave Flowers Self-Titled Self Release

This is a debut release from Los Angeles band, Cave Flowers, the new project of Andy McAllister who previously fronted a group called Vanish Valley. His song-writing on the eleven tracks included here is very much in the Alt Country/ Americana space and the guitar driven songs sound big and bright with a live kick that indicates a band having a real go and just having fun. 

McAllister is the creative centre of the band, also taking lead vocal duties and playing acoustic guitar. The band also includes Henry Derek Elis on electric guitar, Ben Coil on bass and Ryan Wykert on drums and backing vocals. They were joined in the studio for this project by Jon Niemann on piano and Wurlitzer, together with Frankie Palmer on pedal steel. 

There is a loose feel to the opening numbers with Best Lonesome Friend channelling a sound that reminds me of the Silos, that excellent late 90’s ensemble, and Renter’s Life including some righteous guitar playing from Elis. Country Fan follows and echoes the Band with a compelling groove and great interplay between the musicians. The country vibe of Midnight Movie, with fine pedal steel playing has an easy tempo with another excellent guitar break from Elis. 

McAllister’s voice has a hoarse quality and a hint of gravel in the delivery which suits these road-tested songs. The superb Upper Hand is the longest track here and the slow groove masks a message of confused frustration at the socially skewed communications and bigotry displayed by Political leaders, all mirrored again in the dynamic guitar solos of Elis. 

Trick Tears and The Stranger are further examples of Country flavoured tunes with Frankie Palmer again to the fore, while Friendly Reminders has an easy melody line with Jon Niemann providing a warm keyboard sound. The roots rock ofGreat Hits is again proof of this band’s superb interplay and the closing Little Worries really sees the players hit another home run with a message of living for today and stripping it all back.

Recorded at Heritage Recording Company in Downtown Burbank, the engineering by Chris Rondinella (Levon Helm, Shelby Lynne) is very clean and polished with great separation on all the instruments, all adding to the listening pleasure. The eleven tracks were recorded live over two days and the immediacy of the arrangements and the sweetly tight playing by the ensemble makes for an excellent debut release.   

The Lost Brothers After The Fire After the Rain Bird Dog

It has been quite a journey since Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland first released their fledgling music to the market back in 2008. The brothers have been anything but lost along the way, delivering real quality on a regular basis across a number of previous albums, collaborative projects, EP’s and singles included in an impressive back catalogue. This sixth album was produced by Tony Garnier (Bob Dylan’s long-time bassist) and Daniel Schlett in New York. 

The sound is delicately paced and relaxed, as strummed guitars merge with pedal steel and harmonica to deliver a stripped-down, chilled listen. Their voices harmonise beautifully and give the feeling of late-night parlour sessions by an open fire. Equally the timeless quality of the gentle arrangements leaves a lingering sense of reflection, which is never far away in songs like Eight Hundred Miles, Medicine Wine and Fugitive Moon. 

The musicians play with an understated grace that compliments these tender songs so well and with a line-up that includes such talented players as M Ward, Howe Gelb, Jolie Holland, Dave Murphy, Steve Wickham, together with co-producers Garnier and Schlett, then this band of Brothers just can’t go wrong. Snugly reflective and nostalgic yearning are conjured up by the sweet arrangements and the playing that has all the time in the world to set the right tone.

French horn, trombone, trumpet and whistle all add to the ambience of the songs that take us on a trip that resonates with the senses. Ash Wednesday is an instrumental that has images of the desert on a hot night with a lonesome whistler sitting around a camp fire playing an acoustic guitar. Glens Of Gortin closes the album and is another instrumental with lovely haunting vocals and pedal steel echoing into the distance. A superbly crafted release and perhaps their most cohesive work yet.

Oh Susanna Johnstown (20th Anniversary) Stella

Susie Ungerleider first appeared back in 1997 with an EP under her performance name of Oh Susanna. This Toronto-based singer-songwriter soon developed a reputation for her live shows and her passionate, vocal delivery. Her first full-length album, JOHNSTOWN, appeared in 1999 and she went on to release a further six albums in a career that has seen her continue to achieve widespread recognition and admiration for her songcraft and performance skills.

This remastered and extended look-back at that debut album comes at a very timely interval as Oh Susanna takes a well-earned look back to where it all started. Always looking to inhabit the worlds of characters she either learned about through conversations or imagination, Oh Susanna has an easy sense of observation when it comes to the human condition and this transfers into her tales of quiet suffering and enduring nobility in overcoming adversity. Her sound has been described as folk-noir and her resonant vocal across the twelve original tracks really does point to how overlooked the debut release was, when such fully formed songs should have received much greater plaudits.

These are tales of dark deeds, hard roads and the need to keep a fighting spirit alive to overcome troubled times. All songs were written by Susie Ungerleider, with the exception of one co-write, the closing track, Tangled And Wild, which was written with Basil Donovan of Blue Rodeo fame. It’s a song about running away to begin a new life with a true love and closes out the album on a note of optimism, something that is in short supply across the previous 48 minutes of the album. Back Dirt Road looks back at younger days of innocence and feeling free while Home Soon (The Cherry Song) deals with seasonal fruit pickers and the need to leave in order to earn enough to pay for a wedding.  

The title track is a murder song where the killer escapes into the night and awaits his fate further down the line.  Similarly, You’ll Always Be, is a tale of revenge where the woman holds the power to decide the fate of her returning lover who has committed a crime and seeks her safe harbour. The loneliness of lost love on Old Kate is very real with the lines “Well, I’ll make your picture last ‘cause I could not make you stay.”

The Bridgeis about a woman who wants to get free of an abusive relationship and contemplates suicide as the only way out of her dilemma. Oh My Good Ol’ Gal is a song about a woman who turns down a marriage proposal in order to remain independent while Parallel Rail looks at land grab and the power of the railroads to overrun the lives of rural farmers.

There are five bonus tracks included which are taken from an acoustic session in 1998 and all songs are included on the JOHNSTOWN track listing also. This is an essential purchase for anyone who never picked up on the original and who wants to discover this terrific artist for the first time. For the rest of the converted it’s just proof of what we knew all along; true talent will always surface and find a way into the light. 

Ralph Molina Love And Inspiration Vapor

Best known as the drummer in Crazy Horse, Ralph Molina releases his first solo album in a career that started in the 1960’s and has seen him play on all their albums as an original member. The eleven songs included here are all written by Molina and he has surrounded himself with many seasoned musicians to bring colour and life to the sweet melodies. 

He has a soft vocal delivery that suits the arrangements and his use of gentle tempos add to the overall sense of being back in earlier times when harmonies and smooth sounds were hugely popular. It is certainly a sound that is very much away from the Crazy Horse signature and perhaps this is where the true heart of Molina lies. 

Molina has invited a host of musicians from a range of genres, including Steve Crimmel, Kelly Clarkson, Barry Goldberg, Dave West, Tom Lackner, Phil Lee, Ian McNabb, Kent Agee, Josh Sklar, Mark Pont, Anthony Crawford, Victor Goodman, George Friedenthal, Greg Morrow, Bob Thiele, and John Philip Shenale.

Titles such as Your Life Is My Life Too, You Wear Angels Wings, I Don’t Care and Hopelessly In Love With You are steeped in sentimental messages to a significant other and in celebration of the power of love. There is a touch of the Beach Boys in the smooth strings and choruses and the unpretentious emotion displayed is certainly from the heart. Wonderlandhas a more up-tempo beat to it and is a nostalgic look back at days gone by, as is the innocence of Too Young To Know, a love song that recognises the passage of time. Last track It’s Gonna Be Alright speaks of having faith and trusting that things work out in the end. The title of the project says it all really – a sense of surrounding yourself with what is important and enduring in life.

Adam Hill Water In The Draw Self Release

What a refreshing release from an artist that comes with plenty to recommend his singular vision. This is an eight-track project that is both organic and fluid, spontaneous and soulful, in both feel and spirit. Coming in at just over 30-minutes, the songs were created in a one roomed cabin in Wyoming, on a 10,000-acre cattle ranch. It was a solitary existence as the winter snows melted and the mountain winds whistled through the cabin door. 

The instruments used by Hill are double bass, guitar and piano, all of which were his constant companions over a month spent practicing and writing. There are atmospheric ‘found sounds’ also, like the coyote wail and the sound of a boulder falling into a creek as percussion on Magnetic North. Or the recorded snippets of conversation and laughter that appear on both Dance All Nightand Sally Ann Johnson.

The three largely-instrumental pieces included, Dance All Night, Libertyand Sally Ann Johnson; all are old time tunes and Hill’s arrangements are very reminiscent of their roots in traditional fiddle music, with echoes of Irish influences in the arrangements. All this music came from the same rural sources originally, before emigration blended the indigenous sounds, so the inevitable recognition and crossover comparisons are always going to appear. 

Ghost is a look at happy isolation and not needing to be in the company of others for the sake of idle conversation. There is the sound of wind and water at the track end that adds an eerie quality. The ramshackle, loose rhythm of Oh Me Oh My is an off-beat Tom Waits-like dyin’ song that sounds both clunky and inspired. Libertyalso includes a spoken dissertation on human nature, freedom and the need to break the chains of suffering. Airplane Man speaks of giving up and going home when big city alienation looms large. 

As the website hints, “this is a musician who dislikes boundaries, qualifiers, limitations, or absolutes.” The entire project is just filled with great fun and surprise. This is the fifth release from Adam Hill and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

I See Hawks In L.A. and The Good Intentions Hawks With Good Intentions Western Seeds

This is a collaboration between California band, I See Hawks In L.A. and The Good Intentions, who are a husband and wife duo from Liverpool. The musicians originally met at a house concert in 2012 and, over time, they began to collaborate on writing songs. 

The current members of I See Hawks In L.A. are Rob Waller (vocals, guitar), Paul Lacques (guitars, vocals, dobro), Paul Marshall (bass, vocals) and Victoria Jacobs (drums, vocals). They originally formed back in 1999 and have eight prior releases. Their Alt Country sound has earned them a large fan base over the years and on this album their talents have been merged with the more Folk leanings of Peter Davies, who along with Gabrielle Monk, makes up The Good Intentions. They have four releases to their name and are well respected on the UK Country scene. 

There are ten songs on this release and eight are co-writes between the two bands. On the last album, LIVE AND NEVER LEARN, the Hawks had two co-writes with The Good Intentions, so it would appear that the musical relationship is going to continue to grow into the future. They certainly compliment each other on these acoustic based tunes with close harmonies and lots of sweet melodies. There are drums on only one track, which tells its own story, with Davies taking lead vocal on five songs, while Waller takes up the challenge on another four tracks – all very equitable. The exception is the sweetly soulful Hills On Fire which is sung by Victoria Jacobs.

The playing of Paul Lacques is a delight throughout with his skills on guitar, lap steel, dobro and slide guitars very evident on all the songs. Paul Marshall provides sensitive bass lines to augment the gentle arrangements and there are guest slots from Richie Lawrence (accordion) and Gabe Witcher (fiddle). The songs are all very pleasant on repeated listening and standout tracks are Things Like This, Rolling The Boxcars, Flying Now andWill You Watch Over Me From Above. Very engaging and worthy of further investigation.   

Buford Pope The Waiting Game Unchained

Buford Pope, (a.k.a. Mikael Liljeborg) was born in 1971 on Gotland, a Swedish limestone island in the Baltic Sea. This is his eight release and it is co-produced by Pope and Alexander Härnlöv at Vall recording studio in Sweden. Härnlöv contributes bass, keyboards, organ, electric guitar and vocal harmonies; essential contributions across the twelve tracks included here. There are many more studio musicians who contribute on these songs and the array of instruments range from Mandolin, Piano, Violin, Viola, Pedal Steel and Dobro.

Pope contributes on lead vocal, acoustic guitar, piano and banjo with all songs written from his creative muse. The lyrics revolve around themes of feeling lost in the World (Tell Me What I Am / Five Minutes To Midnight/ Stoned) to feeling misunderstood (Hard Life/ First Blood). Repenting for past mistakes (Wanna Say I’m Sorry Before I Die/ Can I Be There For You) to a hedonistic lifestyle (A Hundred), there is always a price to be paid.

The opening song, America, is one that takes a bit of digestion as Pope seems to be penning a love letter to the great Gods of fortune and fame – surely not? Better by far is the stripped back In My Hometown and a memory of reckless youth in a small town with sweet harmony vocals from Anna Liljeborg and the final song, Ninety-Nine, channels a blues version of a previous song, A Hundred, where the need to move on and leave the past behind is the ultimate goal to learning life lessons and growing up. The song arrangements are very expansive and the ensemble playing has plenty to offer. If you have purchased this artist’s music previously, then you will not be disappointed. 

ALL REVIEWS BY PAUL MCGEE