Three Chords and the Truth UK

  There is nothing quite like music, especially in its live format, for experiencing life in the absolute present. Getting into a zone where nothing else matters for a defined period is a real treat and one associated with the music of Katie Spencer. Over the last few years through an expanding live exposure and an increasing collection of recorded material, the music of this Yorkshire-based singer-songwriter and exceptional guitarist continues to beguile and transfix listeners that tune in. Tonight was the most extensive live exposure to date with a full 90-minute twin set gig virtually doubling up on previous live experiences seen, namely a co-headline slot in Coventry and a set at Beardy Folk Festival in 2019. With a solo platform afforded by the Kitchen Garden, this prodigious talent duly mesmerised a healthy Birmingham gathering. In line with many artists edging back onto the live circuit in the summer of 2021, a recurring theme of the inspiration and the challenging is evolvi...

  www.floperlin.com CHARACTERS is the debut release from London-based artist Flo Perlin. Its eight tracks evolve as a hypnotic and mesmerising experience keeping the listener entranced for an intoxicating half an hour. The addictive qualities shine through as a deeply personal folk overcoat is underpinned by emerging jazzy undertones. Themes range from exploring her own diverse heritage in 'Baghdad ' to something even more personal than the general feel to the album in ' Hold Up Your Head Child '. This last track employs the writing technique of repetition that plays a significant part in embedding the album into your psyche via the reams of repeat plays that are a compelling outcome of hooking in.  The gently strummed ' Slowly Unfold' kicks things off in a lo fi kind of way with subtle strings hazily serenading you. This is followed by the record's first single ' Back in Time' , which like it says in the title brings nostalgia right into focus. The...

The value of ending a show on a high can never be underestimated. A trait perfectly illustrated by the latest offering from the Kitchen Garden as it eases from a situation of enforced restrictions to ones of a different dimension. This was in fact the second show at the venue since the significant live music switch a couple of days ago, but it was business as usual in terms of a comfortable gathering. What may have been lacking in numbers to test the new normal was made up by the heart and soul exhibited by Adam Beattie and Fiona Bevan as they chose to end their show with a sublime version of ' Killing the Blues '. Probably the best version heard in the city since Robert Plant and Alison Krauss brought their Raising Sands tour to the NIA in 2008.  Despite this version being delivered in stunning duo mode, the format of Adam Beattie and Fiona Bevan is one of supportive collaborators rather than the out and out harmonising of the common voice. They both operate in the field of in...

Luke Jackson last visited the Kitchen Garden on 9 th  February 2020. The following day he flew to America to undertake a tour, which by the skin of its teeth was completed just as the world closed in. Like so many artists returning to the live circuit in the summer of 2021, the last eighteen months has provided at least an experience even if in many cases this hasn’t equated to productivity. Luke Jackson doesn’t fall into the latter category as a seven-track digital only EP (or mini album, whatever the definition) emerged at the start of the year. Also, while the regularity of gigs is steadily gathering pace for some, he did have the opportunity to play a show in his trio format back in September when invited to appear at the Beardy Folk festival in Shropshire. However, we are now in reset mode for many and Luke Jackson is looking to build on a career that is amazingly well into a second decade. The last statement is found on an artist starting out exceedingly young and you only ne...

  www.benreddellband.com ¡LA Baby! is a short sumptuous collection of superlative songs from Texas-raised LA-based mover, shaker, stalwart and scene activist Ben Reddell. While there has been plenty of Ben Reddell Band shows over the years, releases have been been a little thinner on the ground and the only one traced back is a 2012 EP. This 2021 effort falls into that grey area between EP and short album with the eventual set up of six tracks plus a bonus single available at the same time puts this release into the latter category.  The bonus single ' Hey' has been out and about for everybody to listen to since the spring and is a little different to the six tracks that form the new longer release, This extended collection keeps you hooked in for its 25 minute duration and unveils as a set of top tunes skirting country, wider roots and a rougher rocky input. Among the stand alone content are six tracks that you can quite easily package into three compartments, not a thin...

  www.theflatlanders.com The name derives from the vast open expanses of West Texas, but The Flatlanders have long been a beacon of influence towering over that state's alt-country music scene for close on fifty years. Even when inactive as a trio, the solo work of Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmour and Butch Hancock has travelled far and wide They may have to jostle with more familiar names like Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle for the ultimate public appeal, yet a strong argument can be made to equate the eminence of The Flatlanders, either in unison or solo, on a similar plateau. Now with all three members at least at the three-quarter pole mark of life's long race, the time was right to get the band back together to record another album. TREASURE OF LOVE is a fifteen strong collection of mainly borrowed songs mingled with shades that the old song writing magic hasn't been dimmed by time. Mind you, both Ely and Gilmour have been active with new materi...

  www.joedanks.co.uk If there was to be a Eurovision album contest for folk music then the UK (or England to be strictly more geographically relevant) would be supremely served by the new record from Joe Danks. It would be slightly ingenuous to call this a tick box folk release, even though it appears to cover a multitude of bases in what you would expect from a deep rooted and far reaching long player from this genre. SEASPEAK does what it says in the title with its strong maritime theme, but this is just the beginning as you excavate deep into the creative mind of one of this country's leading folk lights. Joe Danks is known for work as a member of the band Ranagri and was the lucky recipient of a year long residency at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich courtesy of the English Folk Dance and Song Society's (EFDSS) 'Musicians in Museums' project to support his solo debut. Surrounded by such nautical stimuli, Danks pontificated about where this album could go an...

  www.tylorandthetrainrobbers.com Tylor and the Train Robbers are an alt-country band operating out of Boise Idaho and NON-TYPICAL FIND is their third album. The previous record from 2019 BEST OF THE WORST KIND was met with widespread praise but only skirted across my horizon, and like so many other decent releases unable to penetrate a saturated supply line. This time a chink of light was offered and the eleven track offering grasped the opportunity to make an impact.  A little check into the background of the new album reveals a link up with Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly. Now that is one top band which has been on my horizon for years. Braun takes the production reins on this album and a further involvement sees the band join Reckless Kelly on some US dates later in the year.  Putting the titbits aside, there are many redeeming features that hoists this album into the realm of generating a few kind words and heeding a recommendation. First up is the track ' Jenny Lynn' w...

Lichfield Cathedral was a gorgeous setting to launch the music segment of this city's 2021 cultural festival. This event as a whole found a way to keep the show going and they had booked a perfect accomplice to kick things off - excuse the pun! Like all shows between 21st June and 19th July (hopefully) it was a case of can we tinker enough to proceed. The event organisers worked out that the cathedral could host around 250 comfortably, so it was all systems go to bring Eddi Reader's 40th anniversary tour to the Kingdom of Mercia. Since live music resurfaced in May, we are getting used to artists opening their set with a comment about a first show in eighteen months. This evening we went back a little further with Eddi Reader announcing that it has been two years since playing live. She then proceeded to be brave enough to play without a set list relying on the spiritual surroundings to help out with any blank lyric moments. The format of this gig was Eddi and her accompanying f...

A merch table stocked with CDs, LPs and posters is a refreshing sight for an artist eager to get on the road. This is more pertinent when you have released an album in lockdown and relied on the digital world to sell it. As another month clicked over, the time was right for M.G. Boulter to ease back into the gig world and commence a run of dates that extends well into the second half of 2021. Of course, fingers crossed still remains a relevant sentiment. Even if the start is slow, the intent will gain momentum, and an artist can finally move into the sphere where connection with an audience flourishes. This was M.G. Boulter's first visit to the Kitchen Garden, a venue that has really been flying the flag solo for live music in the area during this phased period of restriction relief. Recollections and a chat confirmed previous Birmingham appearances at Moseley Folk Festival; with Emily Portman and the Coracle at the MAC and multiple shows as a member of Simone Felice's touring ...