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...

  www.ghostofpaulrevere.com The first curiosity with this album was checking who is Paul Revere and seeking the relevance. Apart from being a key historical figure of a nation's fledgling days and a fellow native of the New England states, enlightenment is none the wiser other than it is a catchy name for a core rock trio hailing from the great state of Maine. Curiosity aside, The Ghost of Paul Revere have put their name to a rather fine album that elevates from dependable to impressive once garnering a few spins. GOOD AT LOSING EVERYTHING weighs in at twelve tracks, slimmed down in reality to ten when stripping out a short instrumental and an even shorter 43 second fading out finale.  While these two tracks are not quite representative of the album they do reflect the diverse nature that enables a record to rattle through its 39 minute duration without finding a seamless groove to define a sound. Instead we get a mixed set of Americana staples ranging from some rousing rocker...

  www.theeholybrothers.com The year's end may soon be approaching, but there is still time for an album to spring a surprise. While MY NAME IS SPARKLE is unlikely to rattle the cage of the year's big hitters, it is capable of rousing interest and far from falls by the wayside. You could go as far and say that the album is a compelling piece of innovative art as the project appears to start life as a secular-spiritual play before rolling out as a set of easy listening folk-pop tunes that are kind to the ear. Thee Holy Brothers (the collaboration of longstanding LA based folk-rock practitioners Willie Aron and Marvin Etzioni) are the architects behind this fascinating project that is heavy on the narrative and more than a little inquisitive in how it transmits from record to listener. There are almost two different stratospheres that this album resides in. One where you pay no real attention to the backstory and take the tracks at face value of being exceedingly catchy tunes. The...

  The latest album from Granger Smith powers towards its destination like a blinkered thoroughbred waiving away any distractions that may knock it off course. The intended audience are a ripe target eager for the content and willing to lap up the sensibility of this deep rooted Texas country artist. Armed with the intent and tools perfectly equipped for the job, you get all the bases covered with plenty of little extras thrown in. Granger Smith doesn't hanker for navel gazing acclaim and advises that his music is absorbed with a huge smile. This is an artist who fully understands the industry memo alongside a road map to a hungry base.  COUNTRY THINGS is perpetually idealistic in focussing on an embedded outlook alongside cultivating an image of life through the lens of a limited periphery. Granger Smith uses every ounce of his pride, wit and musical nous to inject a streak of optimistic fun into a record that skates across a rink of cliches while never losing sight of th...

www.martinsimpson.com A studious looking folk singer, acoustic unplugged guitar, the family cat and a simple title of HOME RECORDINGS; a quartet of defining features that perfectly sums up the latest offering from legendary English folk artist Martin Simpson. Not one ever short on ideas and inspiration, Simpson has shrugged off the impeding traits of 2020 and set out on a mission of which he has excelled at for many years. Expect the stripped back sound of a frugal recording environment expanded by some virtuoso blues-style finger picking, and a raft of tunes both familiar and revisited showing Simpson's ability to speculate and interpret.  HOME RECORDINGS, a contender for the most simplistic and explicit title of the year, is no short sharp release as fourteen tracks tumble across a listening time gracing just shy of three quarters of an hour. Word laden songs rub shoulders with a smattering of instrumentals, and fans of American folk standards won't argue with ' Angel Fro...

  www,benglover.co.uk The work of Ben Glover, Gretchen Peters, Colm McLean and Kim Richey has been entwined on many levels over the last few years that it is of no surprise that all four names crop up again in one of the year's surprising yet so tantalising releases. It is not quite a case of getting the band back together after a long break, but the momentous effect of recent events makes it seem like an eternity since Ben was writing with Gretchen, touring and collaborating with Kim, and spectacularly calling on the exceptional guitar playing service of Colm.  Essentially SWEET WILD LILY is a Ben Glover release, but he has long made claim to being the king of the co-operatives, and all four names link up on this four track EP in some way or another. Let us begin not with the title track, but the release's most recognisable feature. Following in the footsteps of the menacingly dark ' Blackbirds', Glover has decided to record his own version of a Peters co-write, this ...

  www.garyvanmiert.com Sometimes you can be guilty of spending too much time looking for a record's hidden depth when the appeal is designed to be clear, simple and transparent, In the case of Gary Van Miert it is just to make a fun album that purely indulges a lifelong passion to savour and share the spirit of classic country music. If you're going to dive full length into a celebratory project then you might as well drop the day name and conjure up a tag that yells from the treetops what you want everybody to get. So here's born The Sensational Country Blues Wonders! complete with enhanced punctuation and an all encompassing title boring to the core of country music. THE WORLD WILL BREAK YOUR HEART is not clamouring for awards, recognition or influential status, nor does it proclaim to save any genre. It is straightforward entertainment, free of pretence and wholly representative of a performer who has apparently gained a cult notoriety on the Jersey City music scene.  Ap...

  www.mannyblumusic.com The music of Manny Blu is definitely at the heart of the polarisation of country music as it rides the wave of the movement that courts the huge numbers vacated by a dormant soft rock market. It yearns for the adulation of a rapturous live audience and makes sure the sound bounds to a crescendo in each track. Subtlety is not there by design and maybe it is best consumed in social settings where a shared appreciation is rife. If the five tracks of NEW INK are on a mission to make a designer record for a moment in time, then it is absolutely spot on. Perhaps it doesn't warrant too much navel gazing and will maybe fit a time when pretensions are shed. This record is a diversion from my mission, but maybe we need a pitstop occasionally. Fifteen minutes to kick back and let inhibitions ebb away is not a lot to ask and a space has been found for the time being. 

  www.chuckmelchin.com The pandemic has thrown a lot of artists of course, but on the other hand many are finding alternative ways of channelling their creative focus with remote interactions becoming the norm. Los Brujos are one outfit born out of the ashes of 2020 and announce their arrival in the sphere of recorded music with the release of a debut EP titled ALCHEMY. The band, and the five tracks forming this extended play, are the fruition of long term colleagues Michael Spaly and Chuck Melchin getting together. Both took time off their respective own bands to deliver a record that tempts, teases and ultimately delivers across a brief expanse of 18 minutes.  Shades of dreamy psychedelia lace the opening number ' Reckoning ', very much in mystique synch with the classical imagery confronting you on the cover. ' Bronco' follows to deliver enchanting harmonies complete with mandolin interplay.  A slightly more uptempo number follows in ' Everything I can' ceme...

  www.mydarlingclementinemusic.co.uk You frequently come across debates about the merits of recording covers versus original music, and the various credentials. Of course not every artist can be an equally adept songwriter and the traditional trajectory of music would be very different if versions lay dormant in the realm of the originator. With reference to the latest My Darling Clementine record, it is not a case of being devoid of original material or intuitively raising the profile of hidden music. In contrast, this latest venture to record twelve Elvis Costello songs is very much a calling.  After recording three successful albums almost entirely comprising of self-written songs, Lou Dalgleish and Michael Weston King have parked the original material on one side and used their My Darling Clementine moniker to re-interpret a dozen Costello songs in the guise of their trademark country duet style. Apart from indulging a brace of life long passions, the duo attracted the ser...

  www.darrellscott.com Live gigs - oh so retro as we approach the final months of ill fated 2020. On the other hand if you are missing your up close and personal fix then checking out Darrell Scott's new record could be just the tonic. For fifty minutes one of American roots music's most esteemed practitioners will take you back into a world of audience cackle, enthusiastic applause, group singalongs and introductions both witty and insightful. The sound is as pure as the Colorado air which acted as the location for this live recording.  To be more precise the gig was held in a renovated catholic church in the village of Jaroso on the New Mexico border. You can see that Scott didn't exert much thought in drafting the title of the album, but simplicity runs riot right through the record from the sparse instrumentation and isolated cover image to an audience providing an intimate homely feel. To counter the enthusiasm for this record, critics could point out that music like t...

  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...