Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.sammorrowmusic.com Sam Morrow leaves no sense of ambiguity when he plugs in and does what comes natural. First and foremost he rocks in a quintessential southern American way weaving a guitar-fuelled journey through empty roads and dusty roadhouses. It's been done before and will likely to be done in the future, but there is no harm in capturing the present in the company of an artist cut out to make those vibes shimmer and shudder. In 2020, the rock style of Sam Morrow lies on the fault line of gritty Americana and a retro stance where the genre was finding its feet post-psychedelia. It also receptive to injections of funk and blues to make it an overall rounded sound. Foot tapping and head nodding tunes bring a semblance of orderly culture to the proceedings to reveal layers of substance and music set to thrive in active settings. GETTIN' BY ON GETTIN' DOWN is a juicy selection of nine tracks taking just over half an hour to sink their teeth into your listening repe...

www.mattowensmusic.com www.mattowens.bandcamp.com/album/scorched-earth While 2019 was a breakthrough year for Matt Owens in terms of striking out as a solo artist, the bulk of 2020 has seen a stalling just like a vast majority of the music world. However, all is not lost and the recording career of this ex-Noah and the Whale band member is still set for a bright future on the back of his second release SCORCHED EARTH. Noted associations with Thea Gilmore and Robert Vincent frequent his bio and were the introductions that led me to Owens' music last year, so it was great anticipation that greeted the new album upon first listen. Since that first spin, the album has racked up many plays and sits firmly in an elite group of records that enhances the credence of UK Americana. The latter being an all embracing substantive refuge for key progressive songwriting that surfs between established genres of folk, rock and country. Owens is steeped in the first two of this trio and his storytel...

  After six long months of no gigs, it was good to get back on the live music train with the first socially distanced indoor show. While there was ample space on site for Beardy Folk to bring live music back outdoors with their successful three day festival last month, logistics are so much more difficult for a venue like the Kitchen Garden to stage gigs within the current regulatory guidelines.  This wasn't the first gig the venue had staged since an easing of the lockdown conditions and the capacity was far from tested in the turnout for Rodney Branigan; an exiled Texan living in London for the last thirteen years. Those choosing to step back into the world of live music were greeted to a laid back evening, fully conversant and compliant with the regulations that are in a constant state of flux.  From the floor, Rodney Branigan delivered an entertaining show, using every minute of a creeping curfew to  share songs - borrowed and original - improvised guitar playing...

  www.jennysturgeonmusic.com To the growing number of contemporary Scottish female folk musicians catching my ear, Jenny Sturgeon is the latest addition, and a most welcome one at that. Over the last few years the songs and music of artists such as Karine Polwart, Iona Fyfe and Siobhan Miller have travelled far and wide engaging fans in both live and recorded settings. Opportunities for Jenny Sturgeon to take her music on the road have succumbed to the pause button at the moment, but immediate compensation comes in the form of the release of her second solo album.  Submerge yourself into the sheer beauty of THE LIVING MOUNTAIN and the sensory experience brings the heart and soul of a project right to the fore. The undulating roaming feel to an unabated marriage with the natural world makes this record a mesmerising listen as you are transported right into the core of the beauty and barrenness of the Cairngorms region. Sturgeon's soft brogue is the warmest companion you can hav...

www.terralightfoot.com Anybody who has seen Terra Lightfoot play knows she can rock the joint. To enhance her case as a multi-dimensional musician take a trawl through the delights of her latest album and a high calibre performer strides the stage in full rock 'n' soul mode, not forgetting the occasional dip into country and a light touch of the blues. CONSIDER THE SPEED is an album that matures throughout its span, instantly hitting its tracks with the sultry rockin' blues number ' Called Out Your Name' before finally calling it a night in the mellow haze of ' Two Wild Horses '.  From a personal perspective, I don't mind a roots rocker hitting it hard on stage as long as they show a slice of cultured panache when you access their music in a more individual setting. Lightfoot plants her significant Canadian presence right into the heart of this territory dishing out a product ripe for fruitful listening. Prior to this latest record, Lightfoot, who hails...

www.scottcook.net Scott Cook makes uncomplicated music, which can be the perfect tonic when you desire a bout of well-constructed simplicity. Armed with a stripped down sound, an air of serenity and a million thoughts to convey, Cook is your typical jobbing troubadour. One likely with a restricted hinterland, but a master in converting those who cross his path into fans, at least for the moment, but in many cases for an extended duration. He is also likely to have been severely impacted by the lack of physical movement in 2020, alternatively it would be no surprise if artists of such a resilient and innovative demeanour would have several survival instincts up their sleeve At least getting TANGLE OF SOULS into the wider world keeps some element of the flame flickering and tapping into it will not leave fans of western-tinged road weary folk music disappointed. To paint a picture of Scott Cook's musical career think branching out from his Canadian home, playing hundreds of shows acr...

  www.jeremyivey.net Jeremy Ivey already had lots of credit in the book on the back of last year's release THE DREAM AND THE DREAMER, which means those big on that album will immediately prick their ears to the new one. Many in the know will already equate the professional and personal relationship Ivey has with the better known Margo Price, who features in two capacities on the record as producer and vocal/percussion contributor. While this may lead to further new listeners engaging, the most attractive entry point for enquiring minds is to listen to the first track and everything else will fall into place. 'Tomorrow People' is the said song, and while it is challenged from several points on WAITING OUT THE STORM as the standout moment, notably ' Paradise Alley '. 'T hings Could Get More Worse'  and ' White Shadow'  for starters, it is an ideal opener to set the scene of what to expect. Ivey pitches from a lofty mound at the outset and it would be ...

First posted on another blog on Jan 2nd This first song in the Desert Island Discs (with a twist) series is probably dated back to the latter months of 1979, which was the year of its release. Prior to getting hooked by this song, music existed in a background kind of way. There, on the TV and radio without meaning much. Thinking back, Time for Action wasn't even the first record bought; that honour goes to Questions and Answers by Sham 69. Yet there was something about Time for Action that ignited a passion. Maybe its excitement, movement and tuneful aggression struck a chord in a youth just entering their teenage years.  Secret Affair was at the heart of the mod revival at the time. Straight away, it was also a bridge to the past and how contemporary music is linked to its roots. You couldn't like Secret Affair without wanting to explore sixties soul, Tamla Motown, and iconic British bands like The Who and The Kinks. This curiosity towards roots, influence and the past exist...

First posted on another blog on Jan 2nd Prior to 2004, country music existed in a distant world. There may have been the odd compilation record in the collection and faded memories of Charlie Rich, Glen Campbell and Billie Joe Spears blasting out from Radio 2 in the '70s, but very little else. The epicentre of my musical world was well away from Nashville Tennessee or any other haven that gave a voice to country music. But in the words of Hank Williams, I Saw the Light, and it definitely appeared in an odd place.  Midland is a small town on the banks of Lake Huran, a couple of hours drive north of Toronto, Ontario. The year is 2004 and a first ever holiday in Canada. Before this weird encounter in a karaoke bar took place, the trip had consisted of sightseeing, baseball, watching the Stanley Cup hockey play offs and general tourist things. Little was known at the time, but eyes and ears were drawn to two girls pouring their heart and soul into a version of Goodbye Earl by the ...

First posted on another blog on Jan 2nd In this series of pivotal records, we have moved sequentially from 1979 to 1980 and now onto 1985. Out of the five ultimate tracks chosen, this is by far the most left field (although the previous one Man in the Corner Shop had a left tinge). Barbarism Begins at Home is a predominately instrumental track taken off The Smiths 1985 album Meat is Murder. However, it is not the album version that resonated so high to make this list, but the one heard live at the Birmingham Hippodrome in the year of its release.  My first recollection of that night was why on earth was the Hippodrome putting on rock gigs. I can barely remember another gig there. It would have been like The Rolling Stones playing a West End theatre. Secondly, I can clearly recall Morrissey bounding on stage singing William, It Was Really Nothing to open the set, yet I can remember nothing of an unknown at the time Manchester band called James opening the show. For one striking...

First posted on another blog on Jan 2nd My relationship with Paul Weller is a curious oddity. From 1979 to 1982 (the previous post would inform that I wasn't there in '77 or '78), I hung onto every word until that fateful autumn day when news broke that The Jam were breaking up. Through The Style Council years the flame burned and flickered before ultimately being extinguished as this part of his career also finished quite abruptly. So, surely I would have been there as the solo career kicked into gear, the 'Modfather' years and a procession to becoming an iconic name in British music. Sadly not. Something died in '82, but not before a lifetime legacy dug in.  When asked to name a Jam song, this track buried on the Sound Affects album would be well down the list. This Desert Island Discs (with a twist) series is not necessarily about personal favourites or perceived best songs. It is about those with a back story and a position that proved pivotal. Man in the Co...

First posted on another blog on Jan 2nd For the first time ever I recently listened to an edition of the long running part-music programme Desert Island Discs on Radio 4. Of course the concept of selecting a handful of records to accompany you in a state of isolation is a tested formula, though one prone to change within moments of making an almost impossible choice to narrow down. It's tough enough choosing tracks from single years, especially when so much music is lavishly savoured, let alone going back over your whole life. However, thoughts turned to perhaps compiling a list that could be cemented, at least to the extent of not being subject to whimsical alteration. So instead of songs that have become firm favourites, why not ones which had some sort of pivotal existence that helped form a lifelong musical journey. They may not need be the best, but have an embedded sense of meaningfulness. A few head scratching minutes ensued and quite quickly five tracks sprang to mind that ...

Finally, the fifth selected track for this mythical Desert Island Discs (with a twist) series and one that a took a time for its legacy to seal. Putting a date on coming across this 1997 release is a little tricky as Sara Evans was one of many country artists checked out in the aftermath of discovering the Dixie Chicks music in 2004. I am not even sure which discovery came first, the track or the famous quote from Harlan Howard summing up country music (in my book anyway, not literally). I'll probably date it around 2005-2006 with the album of the same name likely to have been downloaded from emusic at that time.  The song quickly became a firm favourite, but it was still far from legacy status. The first move securing that was a decision to launch a music blog in January 2012, one that was founded to cover live music which by now was a firm fixture in the gig diary. I had previously toiled with a few sporting blogs, but none had really taken off. While seeking a name, thoughts tur...

www.wethemarriage.com Armed with the ultimate name to call a recording duo, The Marriage have reached first base in the promotional stakes and set the scene for the music to do the rest. IMAGINING SUNSETS takes the art form of the duet and the harmony into a fertile territory to spin eleven tracks that gently hover in an acoustic haze of melded voices. Add a touch of pedal steel and themes of loss, love and life, and you start to get the feel that inroads into the UK's country and Americana scene are about to be made.  Dave Burn and Kirsten Adamson may be making a smart move in the positioning of their new duo project, but it really is just another productive avenue since they first worked together in the band Ahab well over a decade ago. Burn has crossed the radar recently as a member of Orphan Colours and on this album he tones things down a touch to co-drive a class tutorial in how to curate a heartfelt and majestic duo record. Adamson will always likely have the tag o...

  Andrew Farriss has incredible pedigree as a songwriter in more familiar guises, so it was not totally unexpected that his eventual foray into the realm of a solo recording artist would include material of an exceptional high quality. The good news is that the five tracks comprising this debut EP are the mere aperitif for a full length release slated for a new year that may be a less turbulent period. LOVE MAKES THE WORLD is a seriously impressive stab at making a record partially shrouded in country and Americana sentiment, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering Farriss' association with artists of that persuasion in his homeland.  It has been a long journey from forming a school band in his native Australia in the mid seventies through the world conquering evolution into INXS to this latest positioning provocatively to the left of the Nashville elite. There is a distinguished thread through the mere 22 minutes that this record teases with your senses, bl...