Three Chords and the Truth UK

With The Toy Hearts about to re-locate to their nirvana of Austin, Texas, there was just time for them to host one more US visitor and showcase their talents to a Birmingham audience. So with immense personal delight the invitation was made for Rebecca Pronsky to join the band for a date on her current UK tour. The New York based singer-songwriter, hailing from the iconic but increasingly gentrified borough of Brooklyn, was brought to my attention when reviewing her latest album ONLY DAUGHTER and the critical praise that followed was based on her ability to melt so many influences into a cool sound. Having used the term ‘urban twang’ to describe Rebecca’s music, the opportunity to hear it live was eagerly awaited and there was to be no disappointment. Within a couple of songs, Rebecca had quickly got into her stride and the awe-inspiring sound soon filled the smaller of the Hare and Hounds music rooms, which was well attended on the evening despite the next door counter attraction of...

If you are ever struggling to define the term Americana to an uninitiated observer, there may be a solution at hand. Just quit the talk and get them to listen to this 30 minute EP from Philadelphia based band The Miners, titled MINERS’ REBELLION. At the end, that person will be none the wiser on the jargon we use but their ears will have been exposed to as clear a musical definition as you could find. The core 4 piece band led by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Keith Marlowe along with his percussion colleague Andy Shahan, have managed to create a sound that perfectly fuses country and indie rock in the true style set out by Gram Parsons all those years ago. This is no homage to the stadium rock being courted by the mainstream just the vibrancy of good honest down to earth garage rock n’ roll given the golden coating of sublime pedal steel. This is certainly a fine example of alt-country being played at its best. David Thornburgh provides the regular pedal steel guita...

HEART ON HAND is the initial instalment of a four part EP release designed to launch the solo career of UK singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Emma Stevens. It was released last year but really gained momentum when Emma supported Jenn Bostic on her recent tour and thus coming across my attention. The  format of this release has the advantage of ensuring each of the four tracks are intensely listened to as the next stage is eagerly awaited and on the evidence of the songs on HEART ON HAND, this is something to look forward to. The project was launched on the back of a family bereavement and Emma’s late mother created the artwork for each EP which will ultimately form a complete picture. The second EP is due out shortly but the quality and depth of the song writing on HEART ON HAND has set the bar high for Emma. All four songs on this convivial release are well constructed melodies that demonstrate substance and an ability to balance the contrasting emotions of seriou...

One of the joys of an active involvement in the country/roots/Americana scene is the abundance of high quality ‘below the radar' artists that you come across. Therefore it was a great pleasure to discover the talents of Annie Dressner towards the back end of last year via her superb debut album STRANGERS WHO KNEW EACH OTHER’S NAMES which with immense delight had a favourable review on here. Now the US born UK based singer-songwriter has followed this up with a short EP named after her home New York neighbourhood EAST TWENTIES. Like so many up and coming performers, Annie decided to finance the project via the Pledge system and, with weeks remaining ahead of its April release, had the joy of reaching the target amount. This is such a vital platform for unsigned artists to prosper and their buoyancy is essential for the rude health of the music industry. With this four track EP release, it is very much of the same for Annie although the songs selected are of a more gentle variety...

The Carrivick Sisters first came to my attention a couple of years ago when they played a short set at the Moseley Folk Festival. The lasting impression of that brief initial encounter was how they had impressively based their sound on old time Appalachia with core instrumentation of banjo, fiddle, dobra and mandolin. This very Americana style was unique amongst the wave of UK folk musicians who appeared on the day. So a mission was undertaken to further seek them out and ultimately catch one of their lives shows where the set would be considerably longer. Fast forward eighteen months and eventually an opportunity arose to see them at the Kitchen Garden Café in Birmingham. The show was virtually billed as a double header with rising folk star Blair Dunlop and thus the appeal of both acts swelled the quaint venue’s attendance to its modest capacity. The format of the evening was fairly formulaic with Blair opening before being joined by the girls for his final track. The Sisters f...

For a number of years now, the bigwigs who control the country music output from Nashville’s Music Row have been chipping away at the UK market. We have had the odd live date, occasional press visits and the increasing availability of releases via the expanding platforms. However Saturday March 16 th 2013 may well become a watershed day when a sledgehammer was put through the barrier formed on the perception that the UK doesn’t do country. Of course this is doing a disservice to the mass of home grown and touring talent that has been bubbling under the surface since the heyday of the Wembley festival. Yet the scale of the operation carried out under the Country to Country banner is unprecedented especially in the electronic age of mass instant communication. On this first instalment of a two-day early spring festival, four A-list artists were unleashed on what is becoming the nation’s highest profile entertainment venue with the mission of bringing modern mainstream country musi...

Almost twelve months to the day that Gretchen Peters brought her Hello Cruel World Tour to the Midlands, the esteemed Nashville-based singer-songwriter returned to the area to resume the next phase of her career. With no Robin 2 Biston gig on the itinerary this time, the slightly longer trip to the elegant Assembly in Leamington Spa was made to witness Gretchen, and her now two regular touring companions Barry Walsh and Christine Bougie, entertain a mixture of old and new fans. On the previous tour, Gretchen elected to play the most successful album of her career in its entirety and in a very systematic track order. So in a celebration of a return to spontaneity from an audience perspective, this gig review is to adopt a highly structured format and reflect in admiration the unpredictable set list from the evening. Woman on the Wheel – Not only in my opinion was this the finest track on HELLO CRUEL WORLD but Gretchen decided to name this latest tour in honour of it. I never tire o...

‘Recorded proof that retro can be progressive’ was a comment attached to an alt-country album reviewed here last summer. After listening to CINDERELLA DREAMING, the debut full length release by UK duo Travellin Rose, it was time to return to the quote and on this occasion apply it to a pair of artists dedicated to carrying the flame of traditional country music forward. The duo comprising of Kelly Lee and Talia Smith have produced a remarkably fresh and archetypical country album that perfectly captures the very soul of the genre. The album is the product of much endeavour from both ladies who have balanced raising a family, while making great strides in emulating the feats of their iconic country music influences. No prizes for guessing these but amongst them include Dixie Chicks and Sara Evans, and their influence can be detected right across the album. Repeat visits to Nashville and the services of some fine Music City session musicians have reaped enormous benefits in providi...

Fresh on the heels of the recent Rebecca Pronsky full length release, the New York borough of Brooklyn unleashes another serving of urban twang on the UK’s Americana music market with a new album from singer-songwriter Annie Keating. Of her four previous albums BELMONT was the one that came across my radar but repeated listens of FOR KEEPS has certainly raised the awareness of this fine artist with a desire to explore her music further.   In essence, the album consists of ten self penned tracks as Annie has chosen to represent ‘ Take Only What You Can Carry’ in a pair of contrasting versions,   plus a cover of Neil Young’s ‘ Cowgirl in the Sand’ to fade the album out. The variety of sounds range from pedal steel driven country through to a little indulgence in vintage New York disco/rap, although Annie doesn’t deviate too far from conventional singer-songwriter mild-rock. Despite this being a self released album, Annie, with the assistance of producer Jason Mercer, has ama...

In this his debut release for True North Records, acclaimed Canadian roots artist Old Man Luedecke has re-confirmed his status as an eminent performer on the traditional music scene. Having already been a winner of a prestigious Juno award for his 2008 album PROOF OF LOVE, the Canadian music hierarchy have once again bestowed a nomination on the man from Nova Scotia with the unmistakable name. For TENDER IS THE NIGHT, overall the fifth release for Chris ‘Old Man’ Luedecke, he has spread his wings from the Celtic/folk laden environment of the far north east to gravitate south across the border all the way down to Music City and a link up with the highly esteemed roots musician Tim O’Brien. As you would expect from such a collaboration, the resultant production is soaked in fiddle, banjo, mandolin and an array of guitars that gracefully support the barrage of articulate lyrics from the bard of Nova Scotia. All thirteen tracks hurtle through at a constant pace that, although requi...

Beautiful songs, gentle acoustic string sounds, informative storytelling and an attentive audience are the desired attributes for any singer-songwriter gig. If you can add a backdrop of the fertile creative landscape of life in the Deep South, then you are well and truly on the way to musical utopia. These are certainly demanding standards but Mississippi-born artist Caroline Herring went a long way to fulfilling them on her return to a town where she has developed a good recent rapport. Fresh from a couple of outstanding sets at last year’s Shrewsbury Folk Festival, the organisers arranged a follow up visit for Caroline to the town and a near sell out Hive audience were immensely enthralled by the sheer talent on display during the evening. Caroline’s depth of understanding and passion for the issues she tackles is mesmerising and when coupled with her vocals and sound that straddle the boundaries between folk, country and a touch of home state blues, the talent oozes so freely fro...