Three Chords and the Truth UK

Co-Pilgrim continue their fertile period of album releases with a brand new record bound and packaged to tempt a curious listener into a compendium of complexities and craft. It’s a record to challenge and delight, swaying the audience in a multiple of mood swings. Melodic and mellow comes up on the rails to ultimately pip fiery and fervid, but there are frequent elements of the record which places Co-Pilgrim at an intriguing point where 60s psychedelia meets late 80s pioneering Brit Pop meets 21 st century raw indie-Americana. Whether such associations cross the minds of Mike Gale and Joe Bennett when they hit the studio are mere speculative thoughts, but their music certainly courts independent reaction. The eight tracks, which symmetrically form MOON LAGOON, are full of cool sounds that soak deep into your pores. The symmetrical element comes from the fact that this appears to fit the double-sided vinyl format and that the first and last pieces linger longest in the positi...

Although Miranda Lee Richards has had a lengthy association with the music industry to varying degrees of success, the last eighteen months has seen something of a renewal. This has had a particular focus in the UK including a tie up with label Invisible Hands Music and the follow up of intent to back a pair of album releases with overseas trips from her California base. This return to Birmingham had a somewhat low key feel to it, but evidence was rampant to what great music she is producing at the moment. Many of the alluring facets of her recorded material were successfully reproduced in the live environment especially the ethereal feel, beautifully hazy vocals and a three-pronged West Coast wrapped guitar attack. Miranda led the way making her acoustic playing punch above its weight alongside the majestic electric contribution of her key stringed accomplices Randy Billings and Joe Woolley. The advertised trio morphed into a quartet with the harmony backing vocals of Samantha L...

As soon as the final reveller leaves the Glastonbury site, a signal is sent out that the festival season is about to begin in earnest and many a touring artist will seek to build such an event, albeit on a more modest scale, into their schedule. Brooklyn based singer-songwriter Annie Keating has sensibly found a match with the Maverick Festival for her dip into the UK multi-artist gathering scene. In the week that she heads down Suffolk way, another good fit for a performer of her style is to call in at Birmingham’s Kitchen Garden to tread the stone floors where so many of her compatriots have shared their craft over the years. On the subject of sharing, there was a collaborative feel to this evening’s show, running a thread through both sets and an audience keen to engage throughout. This was an audience swelled by the presence of local musician Danielle Cawdell who grabbed every moment of a precious opening slot to show how the medium of thoughtful song adorned with an ideal pia...

Of course, with the music versus the backstory debate, the music should always come out on top, but things fit into place better when both complement each other to perfection. Therefore, primarily FELONY BLUES by Jaime Wyatt is an exceptionally good mini album. The phrase ‘such swagger’ is borrowed on this occasion, with the biggest fault only being: why stop at seven tracks. There is probably a practical answer to that question, but it is a tribute to the architects that you are left aching for more after an exhilarating half an hour. The enamoured sound of Jaime is based on the smart ability to unite country music with its near cousins, the alt variety and Americana, and spin it into a bunch of half a dozen highly palatable songs ready made for the sweet ear. The backstory is a little more downbeat as much of the record is based on Jaime’s experience on the wrong side of the prison walls after an addiction-fuelled altercation. Whilst not being the first country artist to chann...

Thimblemill Library is in a current phase of interacting with musical art to the extent of opening its doors to a host of touring artists. Alongside marrying literary focus with that of the lyricist, embracing the world of cultured protest and engaging with left field ideals, you can now add library ambience providing the backdrop to a most beautiful sound. The latest artist to grace this art deco building hails from Nashville Tennessee and commandeers the most respectful of audience attention through a haze of serene country folk songs evoking a state of meditative relaxation. Erin Rae welcomed a raft of new fans to her music after this first visit deep into the heartland of the industrial West Midlands, ones sure to remain with her when she returns. Flanked by her Meanwhiles, in-demand Nashville players Dominic Billett and Jerry Bernhardt, Erin set about executing her distinct style and breezed through a couple of blissful sets. There is an element of adjusted expectation and sens...

The best way to enjoy the new Danny and the Champs album is to throw away the notebook, park the analysis and kick back with your hands clasped behind your head. BRILLIANT LIGHT hits the shelves on June 30 th and immediately possesses a spring in its step to be the ‘soundtrack of the summer’. In fact, this record has an added effect of taking you back in time to when music had a more innocent appeal and concentrated airplay provided the opening to the masses. Sadly, those times are a distant memory meaning records like this have to scrap hard to be heard. Those who do cross its path though are in for a real treat. Danny and the Champions of the World has always been a band where you just want to chuck labels, compartments and the proverbial ‘little boxes’ away. The guys just make music that comes from instinct with the only boundaries coming from finite tangible resources. Heart, soul and ideas are infinite, thus joining the Champs bandwagon (or tour van) is a journey full wit...

From Toy Heart to Broken Heart, the music of Hannah Johnson has always been rooted in the past and free of any compromise. However, Hannah frequently rejects the populist retro revivalist path, preferring to come across as an astute historian hell bent on being a contemporary custodian of a timeless style. In a first major solo outing since taking an alternative path to what formed her first decade of making commercial music, Hannah has teamed up with a number of established players to conjure up a highly infectious collection of tunes perfectly encapsulating the soul of traditional country music. SHAKEN can take its name from a multitude of experiences of both sides of the emotional divide, but in this instance it clearly houses eleven cuts that fully succeed in carrying out the mission statement of an artist driven by her own heart and instinct.  While local gigs are generally billed as Hannah Johnson & the Broken Hearts, a significant switch for the album release is t...

Haunting, escapist and moving: although all you essentially need to know is that GOOD MORNING SKY, the debut mini-album from Yorkshire-based artist Katie Spencer, is very good. Sauntering along at a pedestrian pace allows time for each heartbeat of this record to align with that of the listener. The collection may only last twenty minutes and comprise of five tracks, but the enticing feel from sampling the work of a young singer-songwriter finding her own way in the music world sends out signals of a promising future. If you’re seeking an initial hook to display the music of Katie, think a slice of indie alternative folk. An eerie almost spiritual sound benefits from an acoustic backdrop interspersed with some cool electric. There are implicit soundtrack elements to the tunes which you could quite easily imagine adorning the moving images on some noir piece of celluloid. Apart from a relaxed languid exterior, the five songs leave an imprint to suggest an artist ahead of her cur...

Nothing lasts forever is one of life’s more philosophical observations and it doubles up as the title of the most pertinent track on this album. THE OXYGEN GIRL is the debut solo release from Jeni Hankins who is better known in music circles as one half of the former country folk duo Jeni and Billy. When time was called on all facets of their relationship, an abundance of songs was likely to follow. In a display of amicability, ‘ Nothing Lasts Forever’ is actually a co-write between Jeni and Billy; a lone symbol on an album which clearly signposts the direction where Jeni is taking her life and career. This direction is east across the Atlantic from the US to the UK and a strapline to this album could be a love letter to migration. All the folk singer credentials are in place, but the general feel is more European than Appalachian with the specific twang of her home state diluted among an assortment of songs that span the continents in their theme, setting and sentiment. The in...

When history settles on the who’s who of early 21 st century Texas song writing the name of Slaid Cleaves will hold a prominent position. While technically he will always be an honorary Texan due to his North East formative years, the decades spent penning many songs in Austin, and the ensuing album releases, have seen the stripes earnt. Just when you thought it was getting a little quiet on the Slaid front, a new album titled GHOST ON THE CAR RADIO has appeared revealing our song-writing protagonist in fine form firing on his many lyrical cylinders. His long time musical sidekick Scrappy Jud Newcomb is once again heavily involved on production matters and it is of little greater surprise to see the name of Slaid’s lifetime buddie Rod Picott appearing in the writing credits. Now we are used to this pair exchanging co-writes on each other’s albums and subsequently this has occurred with ‘ Drunken Barber’s Hand’ hitting the recorded status for the second time since appearing on ...

There was an air of duality in the Hare and Hounds this evening as circumstances led to the pairing of Chastity Brown and Otis Gibbs for a co-headline gig. A raft of common ground splits the obvious sound and vision differences between each artist, headed by an instinctive trait to be able to spin an artistic web around the audience. This is also joined by the underpinning of a very personal take on folk music, albeit Americana style. However to take the contrasts at their most literal, this was Chastity’s first visit to a Birmingham venue, while Otis has made the city a regular stopping off point over the last decade of touring this country. Carrying on with the literal theme, Otis is one of the great story telling artists famed for punctuating highly informative songs with regular personal tales, which never lose their shine. On the other hand, Chastity is driven more from the heart and instinct. This leads to incredibly deep songs such as ‘ My Stone’ . Despite a general observat...

Perhaps one feature of today’s music model where control is devolved by default to artist level  is the trend for a more experimental approach and a tendency to refrain from being boxed into convention. Frequently artists fuse particular styles leading to an increased use of the word ‘tinged’ when it comes to music description. While the first sentence can be wholly applied to the new album from Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Jane Scouten, the fused approach is generally bypassed in the assembling of twelve highly distinctive tracks which form WHEN THE BLOOM FALLS FROM THE ROSE. The result is a collection of exceptionally infectious and independent tunes spanning the genre sounds of country, folk, rockabilly, pop and even a slice of old time rag. Indeed Sarah Jane Scouten is a heaven sent dream for a contemporary folk festival where audiences are more than open to a diverse range of styles. This is further made viable by the high calibre of music that she makes, whether th...

The curiosity starts with the album cover, carries on with the title and never really leaves the listener throughout the duration of the journey Miranda Lee Richards takes you on. What EXISTENTIAL BEAST does do is continue a rich vein of form which accelerated with the release of her previous album ECHOES OF THE DREAMTIME around eighteen months ago. An ethereal feel still underpins the sound, but the new record possesses greater nuances and creates a lot more thought provoking moments for the listener to consider. One advantage this album has is the ability to let its mood swings do the thinking, thus meaning enjoying it in a semi-listening mode capacity can be as fruitful as savouring every intricacy. There are aspects of this record where rules are put to one side and frequently the sound bounces between the acute alternative and the fairly conventional. Miranda slips into electrified indie mode quite early in the album best exemplified by ‘ The Wildwood’ ; a racing track ful...

A little room needs to be made on the escalating ladder of UK Americana as Hope in HIgh Water formally announce their arrival on the burgeoning scene. Eliminate the country and rock elements of the genre, for this is a classy display of folk and roots rinsed in real life soil. NEVER SETTLE is the debut full length release by a duo consisting of Josh Chandler Morris and Carly Slade, who under their evocative moniker have been steadily establishing themselves primarily on the live circuit over the last couple of years. Now, apart from an earlier EP, newly acquired fans can take home a more substantial souvenir and while the gigs are likely to remain the staple in the near future, promotion to fresh audiences is far more viable with a tangible offering. The album is not out of place when likened to similar sounding records on either side of the Atlantic, although it would be remiss to infer that there is anything pseudo about Josh and Carly’s approach to making music. Any connecti...

A good test of a touring artist’s growing popularity could be when the audience spontaneously joins in with the singing barely two songs into the set. This scenario greeted Jonathan Byrd upon his return to the Kitchen Garden and an enthralled Birmingham crowd latched onto to every facet of the stage show starting from the aforementioned song ‘ Chicken Wire’ . The multi-instrumentalist Johnny Waken once again joined Jonathan for a UK tour and the pair continually sparked off each other all night as they gave an individual interpretation of a genuine brand of country and folk music emanating from North Carolina. A key feature of the Jonathan Byrd style of music is his literate and articulate approach. He has been a recording artist for a number of years during which an increasing amount of albums have been stock piled. However, there does appear to be a core of special songs which have featured in his UK shows on what is now becoming a near annual visit. His association with British...

When 2014’s RAZOR WIRE trickled into bespoke listening environments in the UK and Europe, little did we realise that this was the start of an intense love affair between Hannah Aldridge and a growing legion of admirers this side of the Atlantic. Subsequent tours encapsulating many shows and festival slots have fuelled this growth  which is set to burn a lot fiercer with the release of the follow up album. As indicated by Hannah at her shows last year, the new record would see a shift to a rockier sound and GOLD RUSH absolutely does that, failing to disguise any subtle change of direction. Regardless of any intention to rely solely on a heavily plugged-in amplification, the term rock is moderated by Hannah’s southern sensibility which will always inadvertedly draw influences from a wide pool of styles. This is what makes her music special and accessible, whether you approach it from an alternative, folk rock or alt-country starting point. The ten tracks which form GOLD RU...

It should never be taken for granted, but it is refreshing for these monthly Bewdley shows to be so well-attended. However the main success is people listening to live music which isn’t soaked in populist expression, yet delivered with such strength and skill to reward an open minded approach. It also helps that the organisers are tuned into an artist network that delivers an endless supply of performers so adept at making top quality organic music. The latest artist to be humbled by the surroundings of St. George’s Hall is American roots singer-songwriter Chastity Brown, who is basing her latest UK visit around the release of the new album SILHOUETTE OF SIRENS. A blended approach to making roots music has been a well used description for Chastity, especially when introducing her to UK audiences over the last couple of years. Essentially, she starts from a folk base and then branches out to wherever her feelings lead, frequently in a soul and blues direction. An earthy vocal charact...