It started with the cliche before branching out where the music matters. A personal vanity project sharing a passion for country, folk and Americana through live and recorded music since 2012. Give or take the odd hiatus or barren period.
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Sunday, 27 May 2012
Tom Rodwell - Live Humble Fireplace Recordings
This uncomplicated stripped down collection of traditional numbers by Sheffield based blues performer Tom Rodwell is as pure example of modern day roots music as your likely to come across. From the opener, a slow burning version of raw blues song 'Over the Hill' through the slightly more beat orientated second track 'You Better Mind' right to the gospel tinged single 'Adam in the Garden', Rodwell's fine guitar playing and versatile vocals, assisted by a stomp-box and traditional percussion instruments tabla, kanjira and pandeiro, show how contemporary performers can add value to timeless original recordings.
Rodwells's renditions of gospel, spiritual, calypso and blues music, recorded on one inch tape without any modern day enhanced sound aids may have taken a while to hit the market in a saleable format but the finished article titled 'Live Humble' will enable him to further promote his work alongside his burgeoning live presence in the UK blues scene and the wider world markets he is active in such as New Zealand. This live presence is based on the re-invention of old time blues as a dance form and is proving popular at some of the low key festivals he performs at.
This eleven track approximate forty minute album is probably going to have a specialist appeal but if you're interested in younger performers who are passionate in maintaining the traditions of music that laid the foundations for much of today’s mainstream, then you will get satisfaction from the interpretations by this talented British artist. So even if blues or its similar styles are not your preferred choice of music, invest a little bit of time in this album and you'll reap the pleasures of a rewarding piece of work.
Various Artists - Hymns From Home Hemifran
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Two of the preferred tracks in the collection were contributed by artists that have more recent origins rather than those who served their apprenticeship in the 60’s, in particular contemporary band I See Hawks in LA who have produced a number of fine albums over the last decade. Their song ‘If You Lead I Will Follow’ celebrates the virtues of independence and mutuality, fully explained in the comprehensive sleeve notes that allowed the artists to provide the background to their offering. This is closely followed by the song ‘Free World’ contributed by Texas singer-songwriter Kate Campbell which has prompted a desire to seek more of her music, thus the ultimate aim of the people putting this record out. With this in mind, Hemfiran also included tracks from four Swedish artists to demonstrate that fine Americana-influenced home grown music can flourish alongside such prestigious company.
As in a lot of compilation albums, especially ones where you
are exploring a number of artists for the first time, it can take numerous
listens to get a full flavour and each repeated play can uncover something
extra of interest. ‘Hymns From Home’
definitely falls into this category especially as many of these artists may not
have much prior awareness in the UK and it would also enhance the record
collection of any person wishing to delve a little more into the wide ranging
genre that is Americana music.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Viper Central - Thump and Howl Self Released
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This well balanced fourteen track album contains seven songs delightfully sung by, now solitary female band member, Kathleen Nisbet with perhaps the highlight being the opening number ‘Saskatchewan’. This song celebrates the importance of old time music in Canada’s prairie province and Nisbet’s distinctive vocals, aided by a touch of steel, give it a real upbeat country sound. There is a similar feel, albeit with a slower tempo, to the song ‘Hanging Ground’ with its darker tones, a pace also repeated in ‘Captain’. Although all the tracks incorporate each band member’s instruments, the fiddle stands out on the title track ‘Thump and Howl’, likewise banjo on ‘A Northern Midwife’ and mandolin on ‘The One I Love is Gone’. However all these sounds complement the fine vocal skills of Nisbet.
Steve Charles steps forward to take the lead on two of the tracks, which both have a unique feel about them amongst the collection of songs that comprise this album. The listener is left with little doubt of the bluegrass qualities attached to ‘Come ‘Round’ while the folk orientated ‘The Donkeyliner’s Waltz’ is a well constructed traditional storytelling song. The latter, whilst predominately sung by Charles, includes a brief duet interlude with Nisbet. The five remaining tracks are all instrumentals with the more memorable being the Celtic influenced fiddle tune ‘Drops of Brandy’ and the banjo inspired ‘Cobro’s Last Call’.
Overall the slightly eclectic sounds may not satisfy the
bluegrass purists but for those who prefer to savour a more general range of
what traditional Canadian and American roots music can offer, this
interpretation from Viper Central will warrant a place in a personal music
library. As well as recommending this album, it is fairly certain that a
musical evening in their company will be an opportunity not to be missed during
their visit this summer.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Good Lovelies St.Mary's Church Ross-on-Wye Saturday 19 May 2012
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The hard working Good Lovelies now have four releases behind
them including the 2007 debut EP ‘Oh My’
and a 2009 festive album but it is their two full length compilations of self
penned songs that comprise the bulk of their live performances, which can
number around 150 a year. Both albums have received critical praise in their
homeland with prestigious Juno nominations/awards and in particular, it is the
current release, ‘Let the Rain Fall’,
which forms the centrepiece of their 2012 UK gigs. A Good Lovelies show is not
just a very comprehensive package of a couple of forty five minute sets, it is
a story telling journey about their lives, loves and experiences of travelling
both around the vastness of their home country and the early adventures of
being fortunate to take their talents overseas.
After opening the evening with the catchy number ‘Kiss Me in the Kitchen’, the girls went
on to perform another six tracks from the current album in the first set
including two songs with a heavily
Canadian influence , ‘Old Highway’
and ‘Backyard’, the latter written
against the backdrop of much derision of their home town by fellow Canadians. The alternative subject of personal relationships
was also explored in the mellow song ‘Best
I Know’. The group are also keen to celebrate the work of other selected
artists in their set and paid tribute to fellow Canadian band The Deep Dark
Woods with a cover of ‘Winter Hours’
before closing the first half with an acapella off-mic version of Gram Parsons’
‘Juanita’. You could sense the girls
were really ready to ditch the microphones and test the church acoustics with
their beautiful harmonies and the appreciative audience were clearly in full
agreement with this.
For the second set, the band delved a little into their back
catalogue by selecting three tracks from their 2009 self titled release, the
stand out song being ‘Lie Down’ , a number performed towards
the end of the evening with its easily remembered chorus collaborated with
prompted audience participation. This
second part of the evening also included some personal favourites from the new
album, ‘Free’ which needed no
introduction from the band and ‘Mrs T’
with its enchanting French interludes. The girls were also keen to come off-mic
again and their exquisite harmonies delighted those present with an
unaccompanied version of the Boswell Sisters’ ‘Heebie Jeebies’, a song preceded by a wonderful tale of it being
sung at a US/Canadian border crossing. The
audience were given one final rendition of this style of delivery with their
encore version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’.
Although an acknowledged predictable choice, this performance, assisted only by
Caroline’s unplugged guitar and the arrangement of each girl taking the lead on
particular verses, worked well and rounded off a perfect evening of musical
entertainment.
The strength of a Good Lovelies show is their sanguine
disposition, confident banter, infectious harmonies and uncomplicated sound,
though the girls showed their diverse string
instrumental skills as well by effortlessly switching between bass, banjo,
acoustic guitar and mandolin. It is hoped the band return to our shores soon
and perhaps the biggest complement is that they made the time and money
invested in a 120 mile round trip extremely worthwhile.Wednesday, 16 May 2012
J.C.Cinel - The Light of a New Sun
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There is an element of country cliché in the title and subject content of three of the tracks - ‘Living on a Highway’, ‘Nashville Nights’ and ‘California Sunset’ but probably the most ear catching tune on the album is ‘Islands’ where J.C. tones down the guitar and gives one of his better vocal performances.
So overall a neatly packaged collection of country rock infused tunes that while having a limited appeal will no doubt be a success when promoted in the appropriate markets.
Crossing Keys - About Time
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The ten track production includes an instrumental to close the album with the opening number ‘Whatever Comes First’ probably the stand-out song. One of the more memorable tunes is ‘Sweet Carrie Anne’, partly because its glam rock feel conjures up images of one of Sweden’s more profitable exports of the 70’s.
Good luck to the band, and the album will be a useful side supplement to their live shows, but there has to be a reservation to it broadening their appeal and expanding into the English speaking music listening markets.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Tom Kell - This Desert City 17 Degrees Recording
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The album’s standout song from a personal viewpoint is ‘Texas on the 4th of July’ , a tale of reflection and regret a long way from home, enhanced by the sound of lap steel and accordion to give it a real country feel. This is closely followed by the slow melody tune ‘Dove’ including a duet with Valerie Carter and sublime bottleneck guitar playing by Kenny Edwards.
Generally the majority of Kell’s
original tunes have that laid back west coast feel about them that, while being
very pleasant to listen to, you feel they are not really going to pull up any
trees and can easily be described as steady singer songwriter numbers. Album
opener ‘Which Road’ and ‘The Way of the World’ definitely fall
into this category but the latter does have the memorable line ‘She was a
French girl, she came to L.A. for the heat’ as part of a tragic tale describing
the allure of the city.
The Californian theme continues
right through to the final song, ‘I Wouldn’t Trust the Moon’ a highly
descriptive thoughtful piece of prose questioning the myths of the golden state
with a gospel like feel to the melody. A suitable climax to a well produced and
constructed album that shows there’s still plenty more to come from the pen and
acoustic guitar of Tom Kell.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Waz E James - Noisy Trucks Gravel Road Records
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James undertakes the writing tasks on all but one of the albums tracks, reaching deep into his creative mind and heart to cover a diverse range of subjects. There’s reference to the traditional country angst of consoling your losses with drink in the song ‘Hair of the Dog’, a track that has also featured on some of his earlier releases. Other subjects tackled include loving a flawed person in the up-tempo number ‘Car Wreck’, the Australian indigenous population in ‘Ruby’ and the usual topic of the futility of war covered in ‘Shiloh Baghdad’.
The sounds created by his four piece band start off fairly
mellow with the album’s title track ‘Noisy
Trucks’, also the record’s opener which contrasts with the driving rhythm
sound of ‘All Night Long’ and the
rock infused numbers ‘All I Ever Want’
and ‘Hell
for Leather’. There was also a sprinkling of the traditional country sound
with a dose of lap steel and dobra on ‘Nothing
I Can Say’ and mandolin on the fast moving ‘Headlights’.
Perhaps the finest songs on the album are ‘Angels’ with its accordion accompaniment
and infectious chorus and the solitary cover song on the record, the Fred
Eaglesmith written ‘Alcohol and Pills’
which is a journey through the history of the demons that have affected and
ultimately conquered some of America’s music greats. This arrangement stands
alongside the versions of its writer, Todd Snider and Texas honky tonk band,
Two Tons of Steel and perfectly sets this hour long album up for its fine
closer, the roots- swampy number ‘River
Boat Queen’.
Waz E James has produced an impressive solid album that
wouldn’t be out of place alongside the more vaunted names in alt-country and Americana
music and maybe in the future he will come to the UK to further promote his
craftsmanship.
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Thursday, 3 May 2012
Whitehorse - Whitehorse Six Shooter Records
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The band has taken a bold step in deciding to bookend the six main tracks on this compact album with a couple of eulogies that give a very atmospheric beginning and end to the record. This creative feature took a few listens to get used to and while being an interesting move, it is felt the album could have been improved by adding a couple more conventional songs that the duo demonstrate they are fine exponents of.
Doucet and McClelland share the song writing credits on all bar one of the album’s six main tracks including Broken where Sean McDonald collaborated as well. Also this song was featured on one of Doucet’s solo releases in 2006. The other song on the record that had been previously aired was McClelland’s heavy beat rock oriented Passenger 24 where Doucet’s electric guitar playing combines well with his wife’s vocal skills. Perhaps the most interesting track on the album is the duo’s re-worked version of the old Bruce Springsteen hit I’m on Fire in the style of an old time country duet. This slower version of a much covered song came over really well and as Melissa alluded to in a recent magazine interview,’ if you’re going to cover someone else’s song you might as well pick one of their best’. The duo’s harmonies are showcased on the up tempo track Killing Time is Murder which kicks the album into life after the opening eulogy while they show they can also conquer the tender ballad with the song Night Owls that brings the album to its conclusion just prior to the final fifty-second eulogy.
The upshot of recording a relatively short quality album is
to leave your audience yearning for more and it shouldn’t be too long to wait
before this talented Canadian song writing and performing duo will be sharing
more of their songs with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Hat Fitz and Cara - Wiley Ways
There’s a lot of debate in music about the over
classification of artists and genres. Some even say there are just two types, either
– good or bad – or even - music that you
like or music that you don’t. One such act currently due to promote their new album in the British Isles is the husband and wife
duo Hat Fitz and Cara. They certainly fuel the debate by throwing into the mix-
an Australian bluesman, an Irish folk singer, Cara Robinson to give her full
name, a touch of alt-country and instruments ranging from lap steel, piano and
bass to flutes, fiddles and the usual guitar to cement the blues sound that resonates throughout their music.
This current record is only their second full length album
release since their formation in 2008 but Wiley
Ways, a follow up to 2010’s Beauty
and the Beast is set to help them get further established on the UK and
Ireland roots circuit throughout the summer of 2012. Their growth plan is on
the back of the success they have had in Fitz’s homeland of Australia, a place
where they have settled and recorded this album. The duo have written eleven of the twelve tracks on Wiley Ways, the exception being the Frank McNamara penned Company Underground and apart from the instrumental tune Sine, a number that fuses lap steel and flute, they share their contrasting vocal styles fairly evenly throughout the album’s duration. This contrast is highlighted in two particular songs, the opener Power, where Cara’s vocals have a touch of the song title and very different to her soft Irish brogue that accompanies other songs such as the closer Rusty River, and the country flavoured Play Something New, where Hat’s raw outback accent superbly complements the acoustic strumming that is a feature of the song.
The duo’s bio throws an intriguing myth into the air of the suggested destiny these two had in meeting up, dating back to the colonisation of the Australian continent in the early 19th Century and this theme is further explored in the song Eliza Blue, named after a ship transferring felons from the British Isles around this time. However the strength of this album tends to be in the mix of sounds the band makes rather than poignant songs where the lyrics instantly grab you. There may be a comparison to another certain bearded bluesman who regularly frequents the summer UK festival scene and the masses of mainstream music fans who flock to see Seasick Steve should take more than a passing interest in the pickin’ of Hat Fitz, expertly demonstrated on one of the latter album tracks Red Rattler.
Amongst their extensive summer tour dates, is a tentative appearance at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival in August and although the festival’s website is yet to confirm this, having come across their second album they will be an act definitely sought out on the Saturday. In fact the eclectic sound of Hat Fitz and Cara supported by this album will be a welcome addition to any live venue this summer.
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