Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.emilyfrembgen.com The term 'anti folk' has caught the eye a couple of times recently leading to a little delve into its origins which apparently surfaced in New York extending overseas to enclaves such as London and Brighton. One new name accruing the tag is Emily Frembgen, and from a vast pool of stateside music falling at my feet the task was undertaken to find out a little more about her. Just to the put the genre term to bed, the negative association with the world 'anti' is not felt on the latest record and the curiously titled IT'S ME OR THE DOG has moved the dial along for this artist, if perhaps not so the genre. The back catalogue of Emily Frembgen is attracted to odd years as short albums hit the shelves in '13, '15, and '17. 2019 is the exception with nothing while 2021 sees the trend re-continue with a nine-track effort to provide a more comprehensive assessment of where her music sits. First of all there is a conventional feel to the s...

  www.adaleamusic.com Oh, the dreaded trend of making capital letters expendable in album titles strikes again. A trait that extends to each of the eleven tracks that carry the inner thoughts and desires of a Canadien songwriter expressing their whims via the medium of mild electronica mixed with more organic fare. On the other hand who makes these rules and sometimes it's far more productive to ride the tide if the surf is good. Ada Lea has steered from the concise punchy route when naming her second album following a 2019 debut which may or may not have any relevance to her latest release. However viewed through a stand alone lens there is a sonic charm to a collection that peeps out from an indie hole with a magnetic appeal to anybody who likes a slice of alt-folk pop with shades of singer-songwriter sentiment.  This album with the lengthy title fills a slot in my listening schedule that was occupied by Jess Williamson and Phoebe Bridgers in 2020. The release has had a prot...

  www.anaegge.com The apparent chaos and wreckage depicted on the cover of Ana Egge's new album is symbolic to the way there appears to be a concerted attempt to shake things up in the content offered. If you are in the camp of BETWEEN US being the entry point to the expanding back catalogue of this singer-songwriter then heads may be scratched as to where to place such an innovative and random roaming album. To get the best out of this eleven track release advice is to let it do the leg work and take you to places feeling right at the point of each listen. While on the surface of not being a likely candidate to flourish in the car CD, the mood and tone of Egge's approach to music making pierced the allotted zone to sink deep into the subconscious cavern stored to the brim with sounds that leave their mark.  From a scattered and strewn base, the assembled pieces slowly build a picture of an artist exploring, curating and boldly blurring convention. All this is done without los...

  www.audreyspillman.com Although her own recording career stretches back a lot further, it is only in recent years where the name Audrey Spillman has started to appear on the credits of albums from collaborations like The Orphan Brigade and Buffalo Blood thus opening doors to a whole new listenership. The link lies with her husband Nielsen Hubbard, the go-to producer of so many recent Nashville albums with a left field songwriter folk streak to them. Now is the time for the spotlight to shine brightly on a vibrant songwriter blessed with an equally as compelling voice. There was no surprise in Spillman staying close to home for the production duties on NEON DREAM, and the marital partnership has extended into the field of album creation with a nine-strong song collection exploring a rich seam of multi-tempo sounds. There is a neat symmetry to the songwriting process with four solo compositions and an equal number of co-written efforts split by a version of ' Su...

www.jacobanddrinkwater.com Artists may rent a festival space but they wholly own the floor when their names are solely above the door. Following a successful early summer slot at nearby Beardy Folk and a more prestigious appearance of even nearer Moseley Folk just a few weeks ago, talented duo Tobias Ben Jacob and Lukas Drinkwater are now ruling the roost on a headline tour in advance of a brand new album. The Kitchen Garden is familiar turf for the pair of them, more so Lukas who trod the floors of the patio set up a a couple of months ago alongside wife Emily Barker.  A quick memory glance realised the stage had been discarded for this show, but the evening was pleasant enough with the aid of the visually impressive heaters to give the patio perhaps a final farewell for shows this year. Not surprisingly the upcoming new album MORE NOTES FROM THE FIELD flew proudly in the set list for this mid-September show, with the added bonus of a gig-exclusive physical CD gracing the merch ta...

  www.olivialane.com A rare dip here into the world of pop country that admittedly operates in a different stratosphere than in the early years of the new millennium where the sounds of that strand were more to the core of a listening landscape. Through the duration of her eleven-track strong new album, Olivia Lane controls the zone well to deliver a record right on the mark of intent. HEART CHANGE sees this Houston native based in Nashville since 2013 hone her writing skills with a wide bunch of contemporaries to channel personal changes that reflect in the title. Though the vocals serenely permeate the album's air space in all forms, they prosper more in the tempered moments where the band plays a subtler role. ' Woman in the Well' is the best example of this closely followed by closer ' Break' and revealing number 'I Let the Devil In '. The standout moment from an album that coasts along in an unashamed bout of modernity framing a sound primed for a pres...

  First up a striking band name and album title is always a good start when being introduced to new music. Without splitting hairs, this band won't be new to folks tracking their progress since a 2007 debut release and this is new music only in a fractional sense. Yet the package put together by The Bean Pickers Union is a smart move as acts think about how they prosper and flourish in the new world. GREATEST PICKS (drum roll for the pun) is a jam packed album tracking well past the hour mark comprising of fourteen carefully selected picks from the band's four previous albums and a signal for the future in the guise of a quartet of new songs. This healthily stocked eighteen strong collection can effectively be twin billed as a greatest hits and EP combo. A win-win for all parties as the initiated can enjoy the future and decide whether the picks are agreeable, while the rest of us get a full flavour of a band hailing from the New England corner of the United States. The Bean Pi...

  The two extremities of my listening repertoire in 2021 are those best described by the terms country pop and traditional folk. Anything from these domains crossing my path get given a chance to see what mark they can make and whether they can break out from their core market to broaden the horizon of the open minded. Serious Sam Barrett can only fall into the latter of these two camps with a moniker like that. There was a brief window to sample his music a couple of years ago but that didn't click. On this occasion more time and opportunity has been afforded leading to a greater understanding on what makes this Yorkshire artist tick.  THE SEEDS OF LOVE takes its name from a book of traditional English folk songs presented to Barrett and inspiration was subsequently sparked to working out how part of its content could form the next album. Rather than just churn out updated versions verbatim or with a little reworking, the chosen direction for a couple of the tracks is th...

  www.thefelicebrothers.com Over the last seven or eight years the work of Simone Felice has been enjoyed, admired and mesmerised mainly in a live setting countless times. Yet opportunity, circumstance and the direction of one's antenna has left the work of the brothers he split from many years ago entirely untouched. This is not down to a lack of releases, UK shows or even an acknowledged credibility of the standing The Felice Brothers have in the eyes of their loyal following and a wider hinterland. For many the first lockdown release from an act driven by brothers Ian and James is a continuation of an acclaimed career, but there is always the off chance that FROM DREAMS TO DUST may be an entry point other than for yours truly. The first impression from checking out this album is the closeness in style and delivery between the solo work of Simone and the brothers he left in 2009. Sibling likeness obviously runs deep in the creative outpost of Palenville in New York state's Ca...

Festival sets can have their own charm and presence, but they ultimately have to take second place when an artist bosses the floorspace of a stand alone gig. Seven days after proving the star in my book at the Maverick Festival with a storming closing Sunday afternoon set, Sara Petite wound up her UK tour with a date in Birmingham, not just bossing the floorspace but lighting up the whole venue and thrilling a privileged audience in her wake. The plane back to San Diego may have been beckoning in the hours after the gig, but nothing was going to stop this being a top sign off especially as saying farewell to adopted British band mates - Joe Coombs and Scott Warman. There was a tip off that the superb RARE BIRD album was featuring heavily in sets post-Maverick and true to these whispers we had all eleven tracks featured on a evening packed with sincere country honky tonk music of the highest quality. Maybe honky tonk with more than a dash of rock 'n' roll and a slice of cultured...

  www.aircooljenny.com Air Cool Jenny is a newly formed duo operating out of LA comprising of Helen Rose and Kramer Sanguinetti. The initial recording to hit the waves is a short affair and aptly named FIRST FLIGHT. It contains four songs written by the duo and the style resembles the multi-dimensional landscape of their influences and previous projects - namely tricky to pinpoint or pigeon hole. However the most pertinent point is that they come across well, entertain and lay down a marker to what may come should the output expand to a more substantial release.  Of the pair, it is the name of Helen Rose that racked the brains and eventually recalled as the architect of a very good album that landed in British laps in the early months of 2018. Alas not much has happened since, but the promising news is that she is still active on projects that do float across the seas in the network of digital information share. ' Pelican ' opens the EP with an acoustic start announcing specia...

  www.lewisburner.bandcamp,com For a slice of unabated DIY rock 'n' roll with all the Americana trappings, look no further than the raw unfiltered yet wholly authentic sound of The Burner Band. They are now the proud creators of a sleek and snappy full length album that brings the passion of a small back room lively pub venue to a widescreen format. SIGNS AND WONDERS reels off eleven sharp numbers in little under half an hour by drawing on plenty of rhythmic dynamism alongside banjo, pedal steel, conventional guitars and the odd blast of harmonica. The pace is lively and the largely co-written songs from band brothers Lewis and Ian Burner stop off at topics such as mental health, murder and the much derided Sun newspaper in the city of Liverpool.  From the off, the band lock into an uptempo channel with opening track ' Blues Came In' acting as an conduit on a number of platforms including the promotional video and doing that job wonderfully. The iconic rock 'n'...

  www.timgrimm.com Tim Grimm, an extensive and prolific American singer-songwriter, quickly returns to the fold with an album capturing the moments that matter and fleeting thoughts that manifest into malleable parts when communicated through the medium of song. GONE is the apt title considering the inspiration from departed contemporaries like David Olney, John Prine and Eric Taylor, of whom the latter is covered on the record. The content starts with eight tracks extended to nine when the opening song ' A Dream' receives the reprise treatment at the end This takes the duration over the forty minute mark indicating that each meticulously delivered song possesses a degree of substance.  The aforementioned opening track gracefully uses a stringed accompaniment to spin a measured personal song evoking thoughts that a dream can effectively spring you into any emotive situation. There are sentimental undertones to the second track ' Carry Us Away' where a a detectable ten...

  www.rbmorris.com Like so many of his ilk, American folk singer-songwriter RB Morris uses the notion of the road and its broad brushed nuances to drive his latest album from personal inspiration to a shared experience. GOING BACK TO THE SKY fondly looks back at the anticipation and adventure of travel along trails where the journey likely exceeds the destination in terms of fruitful accomplishment. A little research into the stature suggests a top creative and all round admired cookie. Sampling the multi layered delights of this album extend the vision to western wanderlust and fluid dreamer. From a contemporary folk base of wide scale tone and instrument utilisation, you get a sense of poetic drifting controlled by a tight sonic backdrop.  The fourteen track listing can be trimmed by a trio of minute long instrumentals, billed as Prelude I and II and early placed re-energiser ' Somewheres West' . While playing their part in forming the framework to hold the album together, t...

The t-shirt proudly displayed the slogan ‘back in the saddle’, and never have four words meant so much to music fans devoted to the Maverick Festival. A few were there showing support in their 2020 t-shirts, but like so much of live music’s annus horribilis (eventually extended by a few more months) that staging sunk into a void now erased from the memory. For those who attended in 2019 or any previous years going back to 2008, there would have been a welcoming and reassuring feeling of familiarity as the gates of Easton Farm Park once again flung open to both the Maverick faithful and first time tasters alike. These fans, described by one artist as ‘clad in outlaw chic’, are motivated not by conformity but aligned to misfits and mavericks as long as they exude a state of mind and an intuitive instinct for the power of song.  It may have been the first week of September, but the near guaranteed sunshine of the first week of July didn’t mind the wait, give or take the chillier eve...

  www.theartisanals.net Zia is the Arabic word for light and there are few brighter places portrayed on earth than on the cover of The Artisanals new album that borrows the term for its title. The remote spacious landscape is ripe for dreamers and this is what you get from indulging in the wares of what they serve up on a smart record that drifts carefree in the night air to juxtapose the explicit brightness.  The Artisanals, a band with a nomadic existence, illuminate whatever backdrop they frequent with a brand of likeable Americana rock. Out of all the acts they get likened to, it is perhaps Dawes that have the greatest association and this strengthens when you imagine the sound both bands create, namely primed for the live arena.  When ZIA crossed my path thoughts immediately raced back a couple of years when a gamble was taken to see band called The Artisanals play a soulless venue inside a London shopping centre to a sparse audience. The result was a smugness that i...

  www.theluckyonesmusic.com Music of the far west of the North American continent can take many forms. Geographically you can tap into sounds from the Arizona-Mexican border, move north through the western states right up to the Canadian border where the exports gets a little thinner. Keep on going through the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta before reaching the far northern outpost of the Yukon. At that point you would think the musical exports grind to a halt, but The Lucky Ones are set to challenge that theory with the European release of their self-titled debut album. This five-piece combo drawing on the trusty quartet of guitar, mandolin, fiddle and banjo to fine tune their country sound settle on laying out eight original tracks to show the wealth of music from the most unlikely of locations. While the site and back story are good marketing points, especially when looking to sell your music in far away lands, the ultimate test is the quality of the gifts off...