Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.daisychute.com The last gig diary post a couple of weeks ago looked at the factors for choosing to see an artist you are not too familiar with for the first time. That show paid off handsomely with a brand new introduction to the music of Rachel Croft. There was a little more substance when choosing to take in Daisy Chute's debut Birmingham show. First of all she was briefly caught live previously when playing a short concourse stage set at SummerTyne in 2019. Secondly, she appeared a couple of times on the multi-artist event streams witnessed during lockdown - namely Virtually Green Note and AMA UK Staying Connected. Finally, trusted sources had put forward her name as someone to check out. Although Daisy has had a rich and varied music career for a few years, the two missing pieces from the perspective of some potential fans are getting around the country playing shows and putting out a full length solo album. The first of these was starting to be rectified with the current...

  www.birdinthebelly.com For an ever evolving moody slice of seismic change, all played out in the true sense of the folk tradition, hook up (or more likely bend your mind) to the theatrical tones of Bird in the Belly. Their brand new album is a gripping conceptual stab of how the apocalypse will emerge and leave an everlasting imprint. There are two significant strands to how AFTER THE CITY plays out. On the surface you can comfortably detect the blending of four consummate folk practitioners with a deep entwining of the contrasting voice and multi instrumentalism on a vast scale. Dig a little deeper and you can follow the narrative that rolls out in three distinct phases. The key two parts of apocalyptic occurrence and aftermath are spliced by a poignant instrumental interlude that supremely lubricates the listeners ability to decipher the path of an album that does ultimately flit from darkness to some resemblance of alternative light.  This is the band's third album releas...

  www.jontylerwiley.com In the press write up accompanying this album, Jon Tyler Wiley confesses an unease that the term 'three chords and the truth' implies honest songs and complex arrangements cannot co-exist. Let's get off to a good start then. Mind you my blog strap line states 'it started with the cliche before branching out where the music mattered'. So an olive branch is offered followed by the assertion that on the evidence of THE LONGING, the music here certainly branches out in innovative and experimental ways to fall within the realm of mattering.  The overarching effect of this album is Wiley nailing the time honoured tradition of saving the best until last. Right from the off there is little doubt that you are entering the rock infused side of Americana as guitars ramp up and beats major on the uptempo side. The full sound is a testimony to the revelation that everything on this album is done solely by this Virginian-based singer-songwriter/multi instr...

  www.massyfergusonband.com Seattle alt-country rockers Massy Ferguson are at a stage in their career where they know what suits them best. It would be mistaken to say that this album differs too much from the previous releases that really started to gain traction with 2014s VICTORY AND RUINS. The most recent release coincided with a UK visit in 2019, just prior to an enforced reset, at least from the touring angle. Now back and firing on all cylinders, Ethan Anderson and his sidekicks are set to carry on where they left off with JOE'S MEAT & GROCERY the perfect accompaniment for normal service to be resumed.  This album comprises of a dozen tracks, all but one Massy originals. The odd one out being a cover of Seattle supergroup The Cupholders ' You Don't Bother Me' . This acoustic effort slips unassumingly into the last slot leaving the band to largely solely own the domain and ram home the Massy Ferguson that fans across the continent and beyond have come to love....

  www.thehawtthorns.com Back in 2019 husband and wife duo act The HawtThorns created a wave with a thoroughly enjoyable and impressive album in MORNING SUN. Three years on, KP and Johnny Hawthorn are back in tandem, and if you thought the previous record couldn't be surpassed, then stand up to have this assertion corrected. It can be a positive experience witnessing music moving positively forward even if you join an act in mid career. TAROT CARDS & SHOOTING STARS is one such experience and there is every shout that this record can gallop towards a fond reflection when the dust settles on the calendar year. However before we propel that far forward let's step back and assess how things are evolving in the early months of 2022.  The HawtThorns are a musical enterprise that starts at the fringes, but doesn't fray from drifting into the middle ground. When making this move the songs are so well equipped and constructed that a glossy sheen of delivery only polishes up what ...

  www.harleykimbrolewis.com Questions sometime arise whether collaboration breeds enhancement or dilution. This is especially pertinent when artists of the calibre of Martin Harley, Daniel Kimbro and Sam Lewis have been able to carve out critically acclaimed careers within their chosen styles. The key to success when entering an arrangement as such now released in this trio album is chemistry; not just in the output but in every strain of the process. Evaluation of this comes across in the affirmative as the path is laid out in getting the record out. Now it's all down to the reception HARLEY KIMBRO LEWIS gets from the ears of the intended.  The album rolls out as a 39-minute compendium of gently constructed songs breathing the air of an Americana breeze drifting in a blissful waft of fine acoustic combined playing, casually relaxed shared vocals and variedly curated tunes caressing your soul.  Let the tracks permeate a secluded listening space and attaining the succulent...

  www.kateeillis.com Kate Ellis has hovered around the UK country/Americana scene for a while. Now with a few adjustments and a finely crafted product, she is poised for a major career lift off with the release of her latest album. SPIRALS is a classic case of a fine accumulation of talent proving the adage that the sum of the parts can really launch a record up the appreciation ladder. Settling on an unassuming role that suits her style, Ellis and her assembled team orchestrate an emotive rack of songs that simmer and shine in a classic haze of imprint inner writing. The ten songs forming this album take their cue from the title track as she tackles the way life's emotions spiral while getting dealt with through the ages. There is ample space in the production for the lyrics to take centre stage and here is where a prime asset of Ellis's artistic armoury sits proudly for an eager listener to devour. Telling the stories from a deep dive into the heart are softly spun vocals, sl...

www.deanowens.com After a lengthy run up dictated often by external factors, the latest album by Dean Owens finally sees daylight and the ultimate cumulation of a smart decision a while ago to team up with American band Calexico. In the distant jet stream of 2021's DESERT TRILOGY EPs, SINNER'S SHRINE emerges as the duly promised full length release and a monumental representation of why the 'Man from Leith' is one of the most innovative songwriting performers operating in the shadows and beyond.  Dean Owens has form in basing his work around the exotic wide open spaces of America's far south west. Buffalo Blood - the most recent large scale collaboration - was inspired by trips out there to tap into the land, culture and people. Now he merges his own Celtic heritage with the latino inspired rock of Calexico complete with a taste of the border and even tastier added sounds led by the horns.  You get strong hints of where this record is heading in the titles of three ...

  www.thepinehearts.com The lines where official bluegrass and old time fiddle music merge is often a blur to the casual ear. What is important is that when acts like The Pine Hearts conjure up a timeless sound melting into a sea of carefree nostalgia to simpler times, all you need is to bow to this style of music. From a dusty tattered cover, it barely takes a couple of tracks for LOST LOVE SONGS to sink deep into your roots psyche.  The Pine Hearts are a band operating out of the Pacific north west state of Washington but they have form for getting around. The album's stand out song ' Wouldn't You Know ' even had its origin in Antartica, although in reality it can evoke any rural point from the Cascades outside Seattle to the Georgia woods. This outstanding song delivers the album title in the second track slot. A brave time to peak, yet what follows matches the standard of a trio experienced in cultivating their sound and fully immersed in a DIY approach.  Top qualit...

www.peterknight.net      www.johnspiers.co.uk A little irony in the title as folk *cruiserweights* Peter Knight and John Spiers know no other way than to deliver perfectly in tune. Whether you hang onto every strike of Knight's majestic fiddle, fawn at each vaunted pitch from Spiers's melodeon or savour the way both musicians effortlessly blend their distinctive talents, fans of prime time instrumental folk music are in for a real treat. BOTH IN TUNE is the second album release from this unlikely duo who saw their project first flower at Folk East festival in 2016. This new offering takes a stab of re-interpreting ten traditional and assorted self composed tunes with the ultimate Knight and Spiers stamp. From a somewhat quirky rendition of the widely known and played ' Scarborough Fair' to other tunes not necessarily on the horizon of everyday listeners, the playing teases and tantalises those unafraid to hang their ears on a bout of classical meets folk. Instrumenta...

In this day and age you don't have to take a gamble when seeing a brand new artist live unless an old school approach of avoiding all digital content is adopted. One surviving feature still intact is the differentiation between listening to recorded music and experiencing it live. For some artists the gap can be huge in one context where the studio impact towers above what can be transported to the stage. In other situations the live performance can show the music in such a different dimension that appreciation and enjoyment soars. The deciding factor lies within the scope of how an artist presents their music and the often innate talent in how a performance unveils. These thoughts raced through the mind in the wake of choosing to see Rachel Croft play live for the first time. Needless to say, the lingering effect is wow! what an outstanding performer.  The decision to attend her show at the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham was made in tow with the modern aids of checking her music out...

  www.marthatilston.co.uk Three pondering thoughts and phrases came to mind at the end of this gig: one door closes another opens, jumping on board the train and operating in parallel worlds. All very personal of course, but pertinent to seeing Martha Tilston play live for the first time.  The Kitchen Garden in Birmingham has been a kind venue for Martha over the years. Largely because she repays such kindness with exemplary shows each time it is added to her tour itinerary. This one was no exception as the sold out notice went up a week or so before. The bond between audience and artist was as firm as any witnessed over many years attending shows here, and more importantly, it was easy for newbies to be swept up in the mutual attraction. This event was a late addition to a decimated start to the gig year. With so many first choice touring artists pulling the plug on their travels, perusing the live music landscape for alternative options became a more determined task. For sev...

www.brookswilliams.com If the blank gig canvas for January 2021 was enforced, the similar count for 2022 was heavily influenced by a waft of cancellations leaving an extremely limited choice. So when the doors of Thimblemill Library were flung open for their opening live event of the year, it also became the first page of this diary. It has been close to two months since Hannah Aldridge concluded the truncated gig year of 2021, but there is now a renewed vigour for the next eleven months to compensate.  First up was an Anglo-American duo with a difference. Brooks Williams was the Stateside representative, but those familiar with his work will be aware of his longstanding English residency alongside an impressive array of roots-influenced music knowledge and skills. Teaming up with Brooks for this show was English fiddle player Aaron Catlow, an established figure on the folk scene through collaborations and the band Sheelanagig. The pair have been working together for a couple of ye...

  www.katemacleod.com Create some space, get yourself comfy and be prepared dig a little deeper to accrue the true wealth of Kate Macleod's latest album. URANIUM MAIDEN is no short term project. It has been years in the making and weighing in at a hefty 17 tracks across 69 minutes means it is no short term fix. Macleod has had an acquaintance with the state of Utah for over 40 years and now the time is right to celebrate her association with this often undiscovered part of America's vast West. She dips into all her folk and Americana sensibilities to craft a diverse array of songs, mixing a quartet of instrumentals with lyrical efforts attempting to capture the people and the environment of this largely desolate slice of land. Of course the title is drawn from the natural resources found here and the front cover lays out a conceptual emptiness to set the scene. There is a strong thread of fiddle throughout the album and this features heavily in the instrumentals. Apart from th...

  www.sofielivebrant.com Swedish folk artist Sofie Livebrant had a spark of inspiration of how to harness her cultural energy as the world entered its enforced lockdown. As a fan of the poems of Emily Bronte, why not select eight and convert them into songs awash with her own invention and musicianship. The result is WEEP THE TIME AWAY: EMILY BRONTE, an album with a difference as you are never quite sure where Livebrant turns next with her acts of interpretation. She evokes the deep rooted spirit of folk-rock and names like Denny and Drake are likely to spring up when trying to place the lineage of where the record draws it sonic template from. Sofie Livebrant is an established and experienced musician active both in her homeland and the wider continent. This brave excursion is her sixth album release and comes with the adage that you do not need to be acquainted with the poetic strand to the works of one of England's most celebrated authors. Indeed a quick search on her works sugg...

  www.healandharrow.com A powerful message and laudable re-addressing of historical balance is made that much more profound when two of Scotland's leading folk lights are in the driving seat. With an element of understatement, Heal & Harrow the duo reveal HEAL & HARROW the album as their debut release in a subtle wrapping of crystal vocals and artisan musicianship. In a parallel world Heal & Harrow are widely known as Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl. Fans of folk music will know the work of this renowned harpist/vocalist and lauded violinist respectively through their solo majesty and pioneering projects. Now they have circled around an unjust past and blended their own skills with some stellar storytelling and insertions of the spoken word. As a sum, an album surfaces to meet the ideals of what folk purists crave. The cause and plight core to the heart of Heal & Harrow is the persecution of Scottish witches in the 16th Century, and the countless deaths. Indeed the...