Three Chords and the Truth UK

As the two-year anniversary of discovering the music of Caroline Spence approaches, it is worth reflecting on her steady ascent to becoming a wider recognised and respected artist. This is especially pertinent to the UK, which seemed a distant place when a copy of the album Spades and Roses inadvertently crossed my path via a US press agency in early 2017. Eventually, opportunities gathered momentum and the album in an intended pursuit found its way across the seas, soon to be followed by a number of touring visits. Since an initial run of touring dates last February, she followed things up in partnership with Robbie Hecht in the summer; a trip that also took in higher profile festival slots at End of the Road and Long Road. On the back of a Midlands show at Thimblemill Library during the first tour, and calling in at the nearby Kitchen Garden with Robbie in August, Caroline made a return to the latter this evening to bridge the gap between appearances at Celtic Connections and...

What are the factors for deciding to hone in on any particular release? From the beginning, obtaining an advance copy of MAYONNAISE, the new release from Deer Tick, tossed a few interesting inquisitive points around. Firstly, they are a band never investigated before despite being on the known periphery for a number of years. Maybe also a quiet period for new material created a suitable window to take a step into their world and give the album a couple of spins as a taster. Throw in the status of this being an interim release mixing covers, alternate versions of old songs and a handful of newbies gave the exploration process plenty of teeth and avenues. On a side note, who can resist the striking cover sharing one of life’s delightful pleasures and the name Spencer Cullum Jr getting an insert alongside a song title. Where you stand on the mayonnaise debate may be irrelevant, but acknowledging one of Nashville’s premium pedal steel players, probably best known for his longstanding...

There is a delicacy and subtleness about the music of Mandolin Orange to create the most thoughtful of listening space. Their latest bout of creativity reveals a fourth album release on the influential Yep Roc label and a further opportunity to build on their flourishing credentials. The chemistry between Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz was evident when first seeing the duo play live a couple of years ago and the intimate qualities that make Mandolin Orange a compelling all round act pack the album to the hilt. The alliteratively titled TIDES OF A TEARDROP weighs in at ten-tracks-forty-two minutes and uses every crevice of the tight canvas to illustrate the intricacies of roots music. Hailing from Chapel Hill North Carolina, Andrew and Emily are surrounded by a rich environment evidently making old time roots music relevant in a contemporary age. Each track floats along in an acoustic cloud, punctuated by exquisite vocal exchanges that breathe continual life into the listening ex...

2018 was the year Rachel Baiman and Molly Tuttle won over many new fans in the West Midlands when the pair teamed up for a highly successful gig at Thimblemill library, exemplified by an outstanding turnout for a Sunday evening. 2019 will see them both build on this initial exposure with separate shows that will enable their music to be closer scrutinised to tune into the undoubted quality. More on Molly Tuttle will emerge in the spring, and her Birmingham show has already sold out. However, the focus right now is on Rachel Baiman and a few memorable thoughts from her triumphant return to Smethwick on the last Friday of a January unseasonably blessed with mild weather. Like so many American roots artists touring the UK this time of the year the lure is a show at Celtic Connections. With Rachel Baiman heading north of the border later in her tour, the folk of Smethwick (and those travelling in from other areas) gave her a warm welcome in exchange for a fantastic multi-dimensional ...

May Erlewine will no doubt have played to more populous audiences in her lengthy career, but would have to seek widely to find a gathering of more dedicated gig-goers than those frequenting the Kitchen Garden on this January evening. Bestowed with knowledge, experience and a smart ear, they intensely soaked up the divine offerings of our visitor from Michigan USA and duly responded with the warmth and appreciation commonly showed to outstanding touring artists in this intimate venue. From the opening strains of ‘ Wild ’, housed within the 2017 album release MOTHER LION, to the crowning moment of ‘ Never One Thing’ adding to its vast amount of song admirers, May dipped into every nuance of her unrivaled class to spin a magical weave of multi-faceted singer-songwriter music. Ably assisted by her ‘trio’ compatriots, Julian Allan (percussion) and Max Lockwood (bass), the treat splendidly dealt to those taking a chance on an artist still relatively low key overseas, despite a well-sto...

Simplicity is top of the agenda when you first digest the music of Tiffany Williams. Yet peel away from the minimalist nature of a single voice, and the assortment of stringed acoustic instrumentation flickering in and out, reveals a deep thinking singer-songwriter pondering some primal feelings. In the case of this East Kentuckian now residing in Nashville, it is the complexities of movement and the endearing lure of your roots. If twenty minutes and five songs act as the audition, WHEN YOU GO is a wonderful introduction to an artist well-equipped to make serious moves in the world of country-folk. The shortened EP format can be a double edged sword when it comes to assessing the impact of music. The length enables conclusions drawn quickly, but with the nagging doubt, whether the sample is representative. In the case of Tiffany Williams, there was an instant attraction that wavelengths are aligned, further compounded when adding the accompaniment of finding the lyrics on her w...

If music is a gift from artist to listener, then recipients of the new album from Maya de Vitry have a gilt-edged treat to unwrap and savour. When sad news of The Stray Birds calling it a day emerged in the latter part of last year, little did we realise that ADAPTIONS was right around the corner. Of course, The Stray Birds was a core trio of very fine roots musicians, but there was something extra special about Maya de Vitry’s role right at the heart of this combo. The route taken in this debut solo release in some respect is a major sound diversion, but there is a trademark feel that Maya has not left her roots behind, just expanded, evolved and emerged as a fuller bodied recording artist. These are roots branching out in a sophisticated direction, with electric guitar injecting a whole new realm of energy. Anthony da Costa, a much-revered guitarist in alt-folk/country circles, appears to be a key component in the revised sound, and his artistry has worked wonders with the dee...

Before this album has its first play, the words: whiskey, Dakota, levee and Mississippi start to lay the ground for where the destination is likely to be. Yes, it is Americana to the core, although leaning heavily in a blues-infused direction. Helen Rose has equipped her impressive vocal and musical credentials with a comfort blanket of the traditional, borrowed tunes and themes rich in the culture of a genre. As a body of work, and indeed Rose’s debut, TROUBLE HOLDING BACK emerges as a commendable effort, stimulating interest, creating thought and settling down as a mighty fine unabated listening experience. One that will have few struggles fighting its way through a cluttered highway of new releases to be heard. It is hard to look past the second track ‘ Flatlands of North Dakota ’ as Rose assumes the mantle of a modern day Bobbie Gentry to spin a mystique tale, albeit set a couple of thousand miles north west from the dusty delta. An uncanny likeness to ‘ Ode to Billy Joe’ ...

A new year; a new name and another record getting a renewal in a new land.  Dan Rauchwerk’s WE ARE MORE THAN WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND breezed into life last year in his homeland and now takes a punt in the old world; a source for some of the material.  This New Yorker plants his foot firmly in folk troubadour territory and serves up a fertile source of stories spinning history into different perspectives. The style is raw and simple, akin to a refined Billy Bragg, but awash with a desire to listen intently. A singer-songwriter’s dream scenario. This ten-track selection is the debut solo release from an artist cast as a founding member of the international touring band The Lords of Lichtenstein. No previous experience is required to take a lucky dip into this record’s contents and to derive some listening contentment. Reference to the title eventually comes in the final line of the final song, but at thirty-five minutes long you do not have to wait too long and the gist of the...

There has been an enormous level of potential attached to Kaia Kater. Although, it is the release of her latest album GRENADES that will see the seam most productively tapped. This album (Kater’s fourth) is having a staggered release across her target territories, with it taking a UK bow on January 11 th after initially beginning life across the pond in the latter months of 2018. The vagueness of ‘across the pond’ is pertinent in this context as it portrays a Canadian artist heavily schooled in old time American music exploring their very own Caribbean roots. The multiple facets that adorn this record make it one of the most interesting releases discovered in a while, providing an abundance of thoughtful moments across a soundtrack that amply rewards an open-minded approach. For the record, GRENADES consists of eleven songs and three spoken interludes drawing inspiration from the island of Grenada; the home of Kater’s father who fled the country in the 1980s in the aftermath of po...