Three Chords and the Truth UK

Surely this blog's annual Gig of the Year accolade should be shelved in 2020. Any such achievement would get an asterisk alongside it in a sporting connotation to denote some flaw or small sample. Well, maybe the latter is relevant this year as live music was curtailed in the mad month of March before the tally even reached double figures. Promises of significant additions flickered out as the year drew to a close with one solitary indoor event and a day at a festival being added to the list that was abruptly halted on March 10th.  However, asterisks apart, it would be remiss not to at least make an attempt to keep a run going that began in the year of this blog's inception - 2012. In a year of a small sample, I'm going to plump for a small gig. The year's two biggest events were in the 500-1000 category with Tyler Childers and the Milk Carton Kids, but I'm going to dip right into the deep roots of my gig world to anoint one just a meagre fraction of the amount freq...

Since 2013 this blog has ended the year with a ranking of favourite albums that have graced the past twelve months whether from the review or purchased pile. To break with tradition, a decision has been made this year to jump over to the other side and take the view that art is not a contest. Therefore the only list I am presenting this year is an alphabetical order of all the albums that caught my ear in 2020. This is a  list far from exhausted as there are plenty of releases that will eventually find their way into my listening sphere, but have been impeded by time and circumstance. A major factor in this delay is the gig wilderness of 2020 as I am acutely aware of some albums that will gain traction from seeing the artist play live. These albums may be missing from this list, but distinctive errors of omission will be rectified in good time. As the saying goes, a record is for life not just a short window of time. This list can be found in the Album Release Directory that has b...

  www.mayonemusic.com You may or may not be acquainted with Paul McCartney's debut solo album released in 1970. Titled plainly McCartney, by all accounts it has had a chequered existence, championed and vilified in equal portions. It is not certain whether Steve Mayone's attempt at aping this release will draw the same cross section of opinion, but fifty years on from the dawning of a post-Beatles era, MAYONE plants an element of inquisitive curiosity in those who cross its path. As someone who was not acquainted with McCartney (the album not the bloke!), a couple of spins on those much aligned streaming sites proved an interesting companion when getting to grips with its half century on bedfellow.  However let's leave Sir Paul behind (he's not short on press) and focus on what Steve Mayone has done with a record that has been deemed a side project. Cramming thirteen tracks into a twenty-seven minute playing time is a feat in itself, but it does have a template to follo...

  www.jebbarry,com Releasing an album two weeks before Christmas runs the risk of being buried in the avalanche of end of year lists with folks generally in a reflective mood. Perhaps this unassuming release is just content to sit quietly peering from the sidelines very much in line with the image on the front cover and pounce when the dust settles. ordinary folks is not one to punch above its weight, even the omission of capitalisation suggests a far from bombastic approach. Just like it says on the tin, this is a gaze into a mundane world of well, just ordinary folks, and the world of simple truth and reality that brings out the best in a certain mindset of observational troubadour. Singer-songwriter Jeb Barry has dropped his name from the title of this album and gone solely with The Pawn Shop Saints. Whatever the motive he delivers a decisive slab of acute perceptive songwriting wrapped in a sound that echoes the curiosity of a southern road trip.  Long before the term 'rea...

www.rupertwatesmusic.com   "A Nick Drake vibe" is one anecdotal reference heard about this record which I'm going to borrow and plant at the outset of a few words in support of the latest album by Rupert Wates. Initially I heard shades of Richard Thompson in the vocal style of an exiled Brit who has lived in the States for many years and is an established member of a tight knit folk singer-songwriter circuit heavily bound by the annual Kerrville shindig. Although far from a Nick Drake authority, there are echoes of a sparse and personalised delivery to get the drift.  LAMENTATIONS is a record that requires a touch of wavelength tuning. Eventually the sole voice, sole guitar and introspective songs find the right band to induce the listener into a state of sedate contentment. Rupert Wates is an lyricist, songwriter and musician with a lengthy back catalogue. You get the impression the well rarely runs dry and this enthralling effort joins the dots as 2020 inches towards it...

www.thelostnotes.co.uk The first juxtaposition to impact the new album from Birmingham band The Lost Notes is its roots on the streets of the twin suburbs of Kings Heath and Moseley where all shades and facades of life rub shoulders in a cultural and socio economic melting pot. The second one is the band's optimistic and entertaining demeanour which can translate some deep profound issues into a breezy display of infectious folk inspired music laced with sumptuous pop and a cross genre approach. First and foremost this five-piece combo, frequently stripped back to a trio for adaptable purposes on the the local music circuit, write exceedingly catchy songs that get enhanced through their multi facetted delivery. This includes frequent three-part harmony and an exchange in lead vocal between the core trio of Ben and Lucy Mills and Oli Jobes. LOWLIFES & HIGH TIMES may reap the benefits from being a late 2020 release, thus giving it a clear run at the 2021 live circuit when it even...

  www.georgeshingleton.com Earlier this year Rock Ridge Music gave us the luscious traditional country vibes of Victoria Bailey which blew like a breath of fresh air to folks besotted with this sound across the pond. Now it's the turn of a deep rougher male sound to follow the same path as George Shingleton's music takes a similar flight with near identical results. A rich blend of southern rock sentiment and a voice drenched wearily in honky tonk revelry and woes greets the listener with an added dose of delectable steel. No doubt contemporary comparisons will be drawn with Chris Stapleton, but here is a guy on fire and not content to rest on his laurels.  A dark background, a moody poise and a title suggesting this is not a release for early risers, OUT ALL NIGHTER doesn't waste a moment of its brief calling time with eight tracks shaping a magnetic sound for those revelling in a little stomp and holler. The brevity of original content is enhanced when you split the cover...