Three Chords and the Truth UK

  With visions of a beat up old guitar, a torn notebook brimming full of songs and a lifetime of poignant musings to share, Shea Rafferty opens the throttle on his latest album meeting its ideal full on. LIVIN’ hit the airwaves on September 25th after a busy slate of sumner events and ahead of a raft of autumn promotional shows, The 10-track release unites mainstream country boosterism with heartland rock, skilfully weaving a transatlantic thread tying downtown Nashville with afflicted Northern Ireland. The guts of London-based Ulster man Rafferty are laid to bare on each song, whether pressing the pedal hard or mulling over things in tranquil pastures. This is Rafferty’s third album release and the first under the stewardship of Ed Harcourt. Precedence from this type of arrangement suggest it wasn’t going to be a twang laden effort running into the arms of traditionalists. Maybe that album could come another day as it is suspected to be in his armoury. However underlying intent an...

  ATO recording artist Margaret Glaspy applied a different complexion to the Kitchen Garden as she completed the English leg of her current UK tour. A staggered ticket sale reached sell out status uniting venue regulars with fans recruited across an influential decade. From descending the wooden staircase on the stroke of 9 to wrapping proceedings up with a sense of ease at 10:30, an air of quality purveyed from a skilled operator in the art of creation and delivery. Fellow label compatriot Dylan LeBlanc famously quipped about the cramped cosy surroundings on his venue debut, Glaspy too sensed a alternative experience offering encouragement to proceed without a setlist. An unusual decision, she noted. 90 minutes later a valve release closed the evening portraying a disparate shade to a performing demeanour. Glaspy’s highly schooled composure and execution belied the single term she spent at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, likely emphasising a passion to learn from mo...

Sorrel Nation set the bar high with her debut full length release thus having to face the potential pitfall of the second album syndrome. This English southern-based artist with an eye for the road possesses all the credentials to maintain an upward trajectory and early previews suggested everything was on track. Upon release, CREEPING THYME ceases to be the close wrapped property of its creator moving into the domain of commercial appraisal. The returns are likely to be relative to the present level of infrastructure and it is the cumulative small wins that will guide an artist down a fruitful path. Within the scope of this nine-track release, sufficient nuggets sparkle like polished gems to light the way to a prosperous future. Identity appears to be at the heart of Sorrel Nation - the musician. One refined by a split life with a significant chunk spent away from the humdrum of a conventional existence. This filters into the writing, which plants some escapist rhetoric into the mind...

  Born like a tsunami A one woman army Took a pharmacy to calm me Three poetic lines never tiresome to read or, especially, listen to. They convey so much literary guile. The impact is extra special in the climax of a show when song slips into the spoken word before a room-inducing communal crescendo explodes. Thea Gilmore signed off her pre-encore segment at Wolverhampton Arts Centre with the rousingly emotive ‘ The Bright Service’ . A fitting moment when the facets of an evening aligned. From afar, two key developments appear to have formed the backbone of Thea Gilmore’s career over the last half a dozen years. First, the Afterlight project with its highly charged creation and presentation. Saturday 9th October 2021 permanently remains the day live music cemented its post-pandemic rebirth. Nothing prepared for me for the unveiling of Afterlight on stage in Birmingham.   Five years later, the importance of the Echo Line emerged as a key invigorator in the lengthy timespan of ...

  SILVERADO, the 3rd studio album from English outfit Our Man in the Field, is a carefully crafted project uncapped for a literate articulate listener to choose a level of engagement. It unravels as a vivid portrait of a distant love affair with an attempt to separate the culture from the ills. Alex Ellis wears the OMITF hat to channel his musical whims enlisting a core support alongside opportunistic openings. This latest release is a fully fledged slate of Anglo Americana encompassing Ellis’s infatuation with all things American from its music heritage to longstanding influences in the world of film, TV, lifestyle and literature. Maybe the time is right to re-enforce the good within a keen message of intent. The album has had a long lead in via previews, live airings, much chatter and a dual release. A 10-track digital version was released on 25th September, now followed by a 23rd October unveiling on CD and vinyl. The revised offering boosts the running time to a hefty 69 minute...

The window of frenzied activity was narrow but the scope of legacy is vast. There are no doubt many in attendance on this tour who were present first hand when The Long Ryders were ripping up mid 80s indie LA and spreading the gospel across the pond. Apart from the odd comeback effort, jumping on this pioneering bandwagon has been anecdotal, piecing together the origin of alt-country/Americana from the cosmic twang of the late 60s to the plethora of bands operating today around the world. Musicianship is timeless and what you witness 40+ years on from this fusion of country and garage punk is as cutting and fresh as anything on the contemporary scene. For one night on the current tour, Kidderminster was adopted as part of the California Republic and the paying punters were dealt a gem. The Long Ryders are now three-quarters of their heyday line up and similarly the Town Hall floor space was three-quarters full. The band’s missing quarter has been more than adequately filled, the venue’...

  Dan Whitehouse is an adept musician pursuing multiple creative opportunities and consistently channelling his talents down fresh routes. The focal point of 2026 has been releasing a new album, a record gently easing out in synch with its defined rhythm. ONLY LOVE hones in on the power of brevity and is a triumph of a single voice in harness with chosen chords and songs built on pause and grace. Working alongside pianist David O’Brien, Whitehouse transfixes the listener with implied sparsity calling in only the necessary and still planting a sense of reason. The eight tracks impart an instinctive wave taking emotion at it rawest. The vocals breathe songs into the ether; the words meaningfully assemble and a delicate tone soothes the ears.  For this album, the writing is a shared enterprise. Just two Dan Whitehouse solo writes are listed alongside co-writes with David O’Brien and Jason Tarver. Two externally written songs get the full intimate treatment, one from Katie Whiteho...