Three Chords and the Truth UK

After spending a number of years in essence serving a country music apprenticeship, Canadian artist Bobby Wills finally believes he has a record that may permeate the mainstream market. However in realisation of how tough it can be to crack the corporate driven Nashville labels and their tight collaboration with country radio, Bobby and his team are prepared to widen their appeal and have included Europe as a target audience for future development. IF IT WAS THAT EASY is in effect the second full length release for Bobby Wills but the team assembled during its production has ensured that the final finished package is a top notch effort with a quality sound that should be the signal to alert the big guns. The album is a straight down the middle good ole country record that has a sufficient modern touch to its creation to sit comfortably amongst the leading lights of the Music Row- centred country music community. At a compact ten tracks long and just shy of 40 minutes running time, B...

For a nation with a sizable portion of their population possessing northern European roots, there is surprisingly little known about the South African music scene that embraces a traditional sound emulating that from both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, this is about to change as Laurie Levine sets out on a journey to leave the warmth of a southern hemisphere summer and promote her brand of folk/roots to a new but surely appreciative audience about to descend into the long dark northern European winter. On the evidence of this recently released album (new to the UK although debuted in South Africa in 2011), aptly titled SIX WINTERS, the wait for spring may just feel a little shorter as connoisseurs of fine music have a highly accomplished new record to add to their listening collection. While the record draws much of its influence from the American roots music of Appalachia, it would be inappropriate just to label it another Americana release especially for an artist who has mou...

For an artist who has written over 3000 songs and is perennially on the road, you get the distinct impression that Bob Cheevers doesn’t do things in small measures. Therefore it is of little surprise that his latest release sees the veteran performer deciding not to go down the route of recording a straightforward album, instead taking the double option and including 23 tracks split over 2 discs. As expected, SMOKE & MIRRORS is a twin record full of self-penned songs that reflect the observations, wanderings and thoughts of this well-travelled singer-songwriter. For those unaware of the work of Bob Cheevers, take the vocal sound of Willie Nelson and the imagery of Tom Russell and you start to get to the crux of what this troubadour is all about. Raised in Memphis on a diet of Presley and Cash, graced the mainstream of 60’s LA, lulled into the industry mechanics of Nashville before finally settling in the creative hotpot of Austin, Texas, Cheevers has well and truly lived the Ame...

Throughout her career, Tift Merritt has always come across as an artist with an independent streak. Not one to be tied down, the North Carolina born singer-songwriter has numbered France and New York City amongst her places of residence and frequently has not been in a position to be dictated to by major labels. This hasn’t prevented her from recording four previously acclaimed albums that have all possessed the promise of her ultimately becoming one of the most influential exponents of female singer-songwriter Americana music. With this background, the title and themes to the newly released 5 th studio album TRAVELING ALONE are subtly appropriate especially as the project was initiated without any label in place. This has been corrected by hooking up with Yep Roc Records and together they have a fabulous set of songs for Tift to continue her progression to esteemed levels. While the experiences of the songs reflect her inner thoughts, it has been far from a lonely adventure and Ti...

The band in full flow at the quaint Kitchen Garden Cafe While Polly and the Billets Doux are a band that doesn’t court any specific genre loyalty, having witnessed one of their live shows they are definitely an act to look out for if your interest lies within roots music with an Americana tinge. Armed with a couple of EPs and a debut album, the band has steadily been making inroads into the industry with their own brand of stripped down melodic music. Led by the enchanting vocals of Polly Perry, the band successfully manages to dovetail the rhythmic tones of light percussion and double bass with an interchange of acoustic and electric guitar. This blend of string-based sounds perfectly supplements their collection of strongly constructed songs that are equally enjoyable either on record or in a live setting. Having been initiated in the delights of their recordings, there was little doubt that they would be effortlessly transported and embraced by the brickwork acoustics of the K...

Photo not taken at gig The fact that Matraca Berg has fully rehabilitated her creative talents and is writing exceptionally well crafted country songs again is welcome news to lovers of this music right across the globe. Those in the UK have the added benefit of Matraca now actively promoting her material over here with a long awaited headline solo tour to build on the success of her valuable contribution to the Wine, Women and Song project. Although there was a decade- long wait for an album of newly recorded material after 1999’s LYING TO THE MOON AND OTHER STORIES, the brace of recent releases has presented Matraca with the perfect set of songs to raise her UK profile as a performer in her own right and not just a Hall of Fame songwriter who the cream of 90’s Nashville regularly turned to for material. This short eight-date tour saw Matraca return to some of the venues she has shared with Gretchen Peters and Suzy Bogguss on her previous trips, but the turnout on this Sunday e...

Photo not taken at gig The evolution of the second phase of Sandi Thom’s professional recording career is taking good shape on the evidence of this blistering show at the Robin 2 club in Bilston. Having witnessed her six years before opening for the Dixie Chicks on their last visit to these shores, she was then riding very much on the phenomena of being the face of the Internet music revolution and all the trappings that accompanied those indulgent days. However just over half a decade later and the pop/folk sound has been shelved, being replaced by the influences of blues/rock, with guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa becoming a central figure, both career wise and on a personal basis. Having been on the positive side to the reaction of Sandi’s chart topping hit ‘ I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker…’ , it has to be confessed that her career slipped off the radar in the intervening years. However the re-surfacing of her presence via the Americana music media brought Sandi back into the spotl...

Although the Maverick Festival has been regularly attended over the years, it has to be confessed that a Police Dog Hogan set has not been witnessed despite this seven-piece UK band being frequent visitors since their inception in 2009. However this situation will definitely be rectified after taking time out to give their new release a worthy and rewarding lengthy listen. Obviously this is down to the band being invited back but there is so much synergy between their sound and the vibes of this festival, that surely a return visit is inevitable. FROM THE LAND OF MIRACLES is the second full length album release from Police Dog Hogan who have a great knack of fusing a lot of Americana sounds without coming across as pseudo Americans. In fact they can join a growing batch of UK bands who are putting a very British stamp on the Americana genre, if that doesn’t sound too contradictory. Over the course of the eleven recorded tracks, they expertly manage to combine excellent musical arran...

Any album that has a personal endorsement printed on the sleeve from bluegrass maestro, Tim O’Brien will alert the attention of fans who like their acoustic roots music with a mountain twist. The gist of the endorsement is that Vera Van Heeringen has spent far too long away from the spotlight and this is the release to raise her profile. It doesn’t take many listens to get into the groove of this record with its simplistic sincerity leaving a trail of a bygone age where music was generally free from the complicated distractions of evolution. STANDING TALL is the debut album from Vera Van Heeringen whose travels from her Dutch homeland have taken her across the ocean to further her musical education before finally settling in the hills of, not quite North Carolina, but equally as beautiful, North Wales. Her acclaimed acoustic guitar skills have graced a number of acts, both straight and comic, over the last decade in Europe and the UK but the time has arrived to break out and showcas...