Album Review: Bobby Allison and Gerry Spehar - Delta Man

 

www.gerryspehar.com

Gerry Spehar's career has had a renaissance recently with a string lyrically potent album releases. To capitalise this exposure and in turn help out an old mate, a decision was made to shine a light on a past life where he teamed up with fellow troubadour Bobby Allison to roam the land plying their music in any accepting place. DELTA MAN is retrospective collection of songs the pair largely crafted in the 80s and 90s. 

Fifteen tracks have been selected to form this collection which tucks in just under the hour mark. The music comes across as of its time, a likely selling point to folks tuned in to this era and its lineage from the formative days of troubadour songwriting to those practising the art today. Alongside the troubadour origins of the pair, they also know how to rock 'n' roll with the best of them and this album dances freely along the spectrum of American roots music. 

Notes from the album update the current plight of Allison and perhaps those acquainted with him can use this record to reflect on better days. Of course releasing an album many years on from the songs first surfacing does have an aim of finding new audiences. The acute authenticity and accomplished status of this collection aids to the campaign of bringing new ears to this music. Such ears and devoted listening space will be amply rewarded by the unabated quality. 

Of course similarities can likely be sourced within existing artist collections, but sometimes it can be refreshing to align a sound with a couple of fresh faces and names maybe new to you. Fresh to the extent of the two bright things radiating their smiles from the cover to nail the retro air. Take these smiles and the fine music they deliver to conclude that life ain't so bad.

Album Review: David Gideon - Lonesome Desert Strum

 

www.gideonmusichouse.com

David Gideon is billed as a roamer with a story to tell. Cock your ears towards his new album and that narrative will unveil in a soundtrack encapsulating all that is mystical about the open spaces of the road. LONESOME DESERT STRUM draws mainly on facets of country music with a western tilt and lets its soul drift in other ways such as shades of early sixties twangy pop. The album pitches its ware right at the heart of free thinking American music soaking up those captivated by the spirit of song. Gideon frames the art of letting the songs flow and you get the impression that they would flourish both in a big band lavish production as well as solo in a late night bar. 

An unassuming cover relates to the simplicity of the album in terms of its relative subtle understatement. Its contents add up to the round dozen and several of these tracks have seeped out during a lengthy run in period. The structure catches your attention right from the off as exemplified by opener 'Southwestern Skies' shaping up as a stellar piece bubbling at a juncture where country meets the aforementioned early sixties twangy pop.

Gideon shows no sign of remaining sonically static. The escalating steel in the uptempo toe tapping roller 'Movin' to the Country' nestles alongside the sultry dark noir shades to 'My Birthday'. The lyrics enter a name checking sphere in the twangier fiddle led 'Ashes' where a touch of respectful morbidity reigns. It is also the word content that makes 'Nice to Meet You' and 'A Woman Like Her' worthwhile inclusions on an album oven ready for critical acclaim.

If the first half of the album has met your fancy, you're going to feast on the second. Things appear to get a little autobiographical in tracks like 'Lonesome Desert Strum' and 'Drifter'. The former possesses a cinematic appeal, while the latter was the recipient of a lucky dip here when tasked to choose one track to represent the album. 'Wings of an Angel' takes things down a notch or two while retaining the innate twang. 'Ballad of Crazy Horse' sees Gideon excel in third person writing mode. 

Like all good albums, the finale sees no tail off with 'Red Boots' and 'Moonlit Lake' both matching the high standards of their predecessors. The first of this coupling cracks the country code, while the final number succinctly closes the book in grand style.

What David Gideon captures in LONESOME DESERT STRUM is an iconic sound alongside the soul of the drifting song. This sends an impressive body of work into the vaults clearly marked 'exemplar'. January releases tend to need some legs to rival the year's big hitters, but this has the staying power to match up, Especially when the country machine from the fringes cranks into gear with fiddle, steel and stellar songwriting ruling the roost.  

Album Review: Raine Hamilton - Brave Land

 

www.rainehamilton.com

Raine Hamilton joins a lauded group of like minded Canadian artists getting a channel into the UK market via a well connected route that has shared many hours of fascinating music over the years. This Winnipeg native draws upon the deep roots of folk sensibility and mixes in a wealth of classical calibre musicianship to create a body of work that sways between the easily absorbed and that which stretches the senses. BRAVE LAND has been drip released throughout most of the last year. However, traction is likely to be greater now the whole tightly bound eleven track album is out to share. The ever popular Bandcamp platform is a wise choice to utilise with its user friendly options and there are significant highlights to tempt the discerning buyer.

The musical content is very much a combined stringed effort. Hamilton is an acclaimed violinist who has teamed up with a fellow double bassist and cellist to curate a refined sound. Background info on the release describes it as a concept album with the mountains a strong theme. Ironic with a little knowledge on Manitoba's perceived terrain. Diving into the lyrical prowess is one way to tap into Hamilton's musical wavelength though it can be just as productive to lap up the vibes from lighter touch access. 

To contrast the content, ultra appealing opener 'Love Has Come For Me' sweetly massages your ears, perhaps softening you up for more complex efforts mid way such as the chamber chimes to 'Dominae Sanctae' and faintly spun 'Mountain Henge'. Wherever you jump into BRAVE LAND, detecting the heavenly crafted fare falls as easily upon both connoisseurs following patterns and mere mortals soaking up ambience. 

In essence the music of Raine Hamilton generally, and BRAVE LAND specifically, purrs with a classical coating adorning a solid base of acutely durable artisan songs. A distinct purity eases the music into the ears of those partial to the sounds of a western Canadian landscape where beauty is mutually aligned. 

Album Review: Anna Ash - Sleeper

 www.annaash.com

Anna Ash has had an eye on the international market from her US base for a while and this pursuit will gain extra impetus with the release of a new record. SLEEPER emerges into an eleven track album from a previous EP housing five songs that form the second half of the full length release. The entity is packed with soulful vibes grown from a minimalist base amidst aesthetic undertones. There is a mild mannered distinctive edge to the vocal groove that draw comparisons with Frazey Ford. This slightly hypnotic sheen snares a listener on the lookout for a sound that lures you in. 

The front cover depicts a day either dawning or dusking, which pinpoints a mood flourishing in a partial light. Mellow, evocative or pensive are further ways to describe the music that emanates from a Michigan born artist now LA based. To complete a spin round the States, the album gets a release on Tulsa based label Black Mesa Records, and a subsequent conduit into UK ears. Alt-folk meets lo-fi acoustic alternative attempts to locate the music of Anna Ash on a crowded spectrum though ultimately it will reside in the canyons of the open minded. 

You can make a strong case for opening song 'Favourite Part' or its transfixing follow on track 'Popularity' defining the album, but the conclusion is that SLEEPER is generally not deigned for cherry picking. Instead savouring its intrinsic calming presence in full, preferably in a solo moment, is likely the environment to get the most out of a probing and satisfying release. 

Anna Ash has curated a mesmerising body of songs that circulate like a gentle carousel ride. SLEEPER may encompass the day's most restful and sedentary moments, but these are the times when good music can penetrate most. Take a chance on this serene album and a sensual aromatherapy could just be a soothing gift to lift the seasonal ills. 

Album Review: Police Dog Hogan - Overground

 

www.policedoghogan.com

If you've followed the evolving career of Police Dog Hogan you know what you're getting: a multi instrumentally driven concoction of rhythmically pleasing tunes landing on the listener with little pretence. For their fifth album, the blueprint driving an evolution that has widened their appeal is in tact to the extent of perhaps edging OVERGROUND into the realm of being the band's most accomplished release to date. Slightly random yet totally realistic, this twelve strong collection of songs springs from a multitude of stories, tales, anecdotes and personal musings. The authenticity gels to generate one play insufficient and even a dozen more enticing you to return to a record that kicks off a new year in grand style.

Police Dog Hogan is a seven piece band fronted by main vocalist James Studholme, but are defined by the sum of the parts that range from a stringed repertoire through to frequent brass. UK Americana has tended to house them partly due a waif and stray demeanour, but a fertile appeal stretches the band's reach from straight up roots to a mainstream broad brush. Where Police Dog Hogan ply their trade smiling faces are certain to appear, and this has tended to major in a live setting with the upbeat persona cue to a good night out.

Until live music kicks back into some kind of normality, perpetual spins of OVERGROUND will feed an appetite for reminiscing. Right from the vibrant strains of opening track 'Hold On' you sense the guys and gal are on rousing form and three-quarters of an hour or so later you have embraced the true essence of Police Dog Hogan. This means an undulating journey ending with the band nursing that end of night drink, or penultimately enquiring if there is 'Room in That Bottle'. 

The opening salvo is one of a handful of tracks selected to preview the album and represents the band in rousing form. However the run up hasn't all been about the upbeat as exemplified in the creatively entertaining and thoughtful 'Funfair on Shepherd's Bush Green' released as one of the singles, or promotional pieces in the digital age.

'Westward Ho!' is another quirk of carrying over the title track from a previous album. Maybe unique to Police Dog Hogan but what is dealt here is a full bodied anthem escalating periodically to convey a brash bout of nostalgia. Pop sensibilities infiltrate the band's sound from time to time and plenty of 'whoahs' do the job here and also the subsequent track 'Might As Well Be'.

On an occasion where Studholme steps aside from the vocals, 'Barcelona' emerges as a pure ear worm number. Born from a slice of deluded fantasy and simple play on words, it showcases the fun side to the band by taking the rhyming agenda to new places. Once listened to never forgotten.

'Here Comes Crow' is one of the record's more stripped down offerings and is inspired by a back to nature lockdown experience. Also on a more placid terrain is the mid tempo piece 'Disappear' and the observational number 'I Need Your Love'. 

Police Dog Hogan have been hailed as a homegrown treasure and you sense fully immersed in the suburban soul of a curious England peering out of a window onto the quirks of life. OVERGROUND lives up to the analogy of the title and is an explicitly open album sharing the wares of a band not overt about shielding the contents of what they have to offer. Engaging in this record is a refreshing experience to lengthen the short days of its mid January release.