Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.kassivalazza.com Kassi Valazza is one of two West Coast singer-songwriters Loose Music have introduced to UK audiences on a more formal basis this year. While Angelica Rockne made a brief visit to our shores in August, the Portland-based Valazza is getting wider exposure with a second run of dates just about to end. This October return is part of a more extensive European tour and new venues across the UK have been sought. The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham is not your usual hangout for touring artists of an Americana slant, but was chosen to host the penultimate show of the UK leg.  The ironically titled album KASSI VALAZZA KNOWS NOTHING has been the introduction for many this year and is one of two releases in the back catalogue. As this show evolved, a couple of new songs were shared alongside plans afoot for another Kassi Valazza record. Needless to say the style was similar and those who have fallen in love with the symbolic cosmic strand of country-laced folk rock ...

  Anton O'Donnell is a singer-songwriter from Glasgow widely known as the front person of Anton and the Colts. Despite the name on the front of the latest record being streamlined to reflect a solo stance, the band effect is alive and kicking within nine tracks that land on the listener in a haze of toughened suburban Brit Pop meets heartfelt heartland Americana. The conundrum within the title and cover begins to unravel when TOMBER SUR PRW gets its literal translation as 'falling on Paisley Street West', the place where O'Donnell lives. A sense of street realism runs through the theme of the lyrics and you surmise to what extent the road under the nose influences the songwriting process. Like all albums cut from the word-laden mind of a troubadour, savouring the wares with lyrics in hand creates a rounded listening experience. A chance meet up with American producer Brian Brinkerhoff led O'Donnell into a unique creating process for this album with the added imposit...

  www.lynnehanson.com Touring is in the DNA of Canadian singer-songwriter Lynne Hanson. Whether exploring new territories or revisiting old haunts, polished songs cut through to audiences from seasoned to fresh. Listening rooms are filled with an air of confidence as a cathartic experience fulfils the prophecy of live music fuelling its connective role. Extended excursions from an Ottawa home have landed in many formats, guises and locations as continental Europe and the UK has frequently embraced what this songwriter has to to say and most importantly how it's conveyed. The current run of UK dates ended with this Kitchen Garden return and it is worth noting that this year's dates followed a successful return to distance touring in 2022. You wouldn't bet against more Lynne Hanson visits with the enticing nugget of another new record slated for a 2024 release. This latest Midlands show - previous trips have seen her play Bewdley, Thimblemill Library and around a dozen years ...

  www.theheartcollectors.com The Heart Collectors are a four-piece Australian band adept at creating a unique and distinctive sound. They focus on a tightly spun ethereal sonic template that matches largely acoustic charm with a blend of individually dealt vocals and harmonies that are secure to the core. Their latest record creatively titled THE SPACE BETWEEN possesses multiple strands as the band stir together a melange of new tracks, a trio of fan favourite covers recorded live, and a couple of older songs reworked from an unavailable previous album. Before dipping into the recorded fare, the striking album cover evokes the spiritual vibes emanating from the music and sets the scene perfectly for what is about to be sampled. A case of bracing artisanship all round.  The shortest of the three segments is placed as a pairing at the centre point of the album, which stretches to a 54-minute running time. ' Stand Up ' is the first of the re-worked older tracks with violin, cello...

  www.rodpicott.com Rod Picott returns to the status of current recording artist with the release of his latest album. You get a sense that this is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future such is the torrent of inspiration that appears to flow from his creative stirring pot. The tread gets a little worn, but this only adds to the resilience that insulates from the fickle world of changing tastes and horizons. STARLIGHT TOUR is an explicit case of an artist focussing on their strength and possessing the nous to source some additional parts to refine the running. The key component here is a return to the producing realm of Neilson Hubbard; an ace in the pack for polishing the raw credentials of songwriters rich in the soil of their influences, though just needing a reboot to get the songs out in commercial formats.  Writing collaboration is one thing Picott hasn't shied away from in his career. You only have to explore his back catalogue or attend one of the shows to le...

www.michelestodart.com A hushed vocal glow; facial expressions living each lyric line; delicate playing conveying an ambient mood; an audience awash with cathartic bliss. It felt like a personal invitation. The reality was Michele Stodart breathing every moment of her new album INVITATION.  The Temperance in Leamington Spa redefines intimacy. A little readjustment is needed when you first descend into its basement. More so when every space is taken for a sold out show. You initially look for a potential exit until the music starts then you’re locked into an artist’s tightly spun web of allure.  Michele Stodart is famed for her animated bass playing in the group she co-founded around 20 years ago. While the Magic Numbers occasionally spring into action for both pop up and short run shows plus the odd record, its members plough on with a surfeit of other projects. Stodart, and her brother Romeo, are highly active in the capital’s music scene, and from time to time Michele hu...

  www.wardknuturtownes.com On the evidence of witnessing only the second ever Ward Knutur Townes gig, this trio will be a mighty formidable outfit by the time the inaugural run of shows is done and dusted. It helped that British folk singer Lucy Ward, Icelandic singer-songwriter Svavar Knutur and Canadian troubadour Adyn Townes are experienced operators in their own individual sphere coupled with being in possession of an impressive debut album courting praise from across the media spectrum. Erudite humble bloggers and the wide reaching domain of national newspapers have joined forces to celebrate the wealth of UNANSWERED, which is set to be one of the surprise folk music successes of the year. If listening to a record born out of captive online collaboration provides one perspective, a whole new dynamic comes to the fore when they bring the riches to the stage. After a premiere in Ward's hometown of Derby, the folk music arm of Newhampton Arts Centre in Wolverhampton was next in l...

  www.bendelacour.com When an album is so good, there is no limit on subsequent release dates to ensure it reaches as wide an audience as possible. April was the first time SWEET ANHEDONIA by Ben de la Cour reared its probing head bonded onto a substantive base. The onsetting darkness of October is an apt time for it to receive a European reboot and getting lost in its mesmerising maze is not a bad place to abscond to as the shortening days loom. A little knowledge of Ben de la Cour's previous material sets you on track for a tough ride that accrues an extra sheen when learning that the Southern gothic sounds of Jim White are influenced from the production seat. Lacking that knowledge doesn't diminish the appeal as long as you buckle up for a heavy dose of Americana noir that glistens with reams of exceptional songwriting. The oxymoron of the title echoes the irony code. Dig a little into the writer's documented background and you feel therapy taking shape. Take a peep into...

  www.rodpicott.com Rod Picott's output is a conveyor belt of creative inspiration. His writings, whether in prose or songs, seemingly freely flow and there is a reassuring comfort that the span between albums barely exceeds a couple of years. In recent times you can almost count the months between releases as STARLIGHT TOUR hits the shelves soon hot on the heels of last year's PAPER HEARTS AND BROKEN ARROWS. While the basic formula remains the same, there is always something fresh to explore in his writings.The road remains integral to his identity and provides the scope to share both his music and musings. You tend to know what is on offer from a Rod Picott show and the longevity of overseas trips suggest an appeal that runs deep into the DNA of the UK's Americana community.  There were few rocks displaced as St. Lawrence's Church in the Staffordshire town of Biddulph became the latest in a long line of stopping off points the length and breadth of the British Isles. ...

  www.brigidoneill.com Whatever decisions Brigid O'Neill has made in her time in music, few could match the bravery and appropriateness of stepping outside a comfort zone to reach new audiences. Possessing the talent and serving an exceptional new album smooths a process that is still fraught with challenges and the hurdle of raising your voice in a crowded room. On the evidence from the opening night of leaving her Ulster home to play a raft of new venues across the Irish Sea, the venture is set to succeed - give or take an element of luck that too often sits at the heart of commercial music. A decent turnout for an inaugural show at the Kitchen Garden gave this Co. Down native a warm and kind welcome that was replicated with a performance escalating the assured, confident and immaculate scale. O'Neill brings a sense of warmth, sincerity and distinctive acumen to the wide reaching singer-songwriter style. The attributed comments of admirers echoes shades of folk, country, jazz...

  www.trackdogsmusic.com There is no drifting when Madrid-based multi-national outfit Track Dogs hit the road re-defining the often used term eclectic. Maybe the eclecticism driven by the recorded and live output is confined to the roots spectrum, but you are certainly spun round an interconnected world when engaging with the music. On their latest album BLIND SUMMITS & HIDDEN DIPS, the listener is kept alert as a tight template encompasses a wide array of fast paced sounds that make half an hour feel longer - in a good way. From a band name referencing the dark subterranean world of the New York Subway, two Englishmen, an Irishman, an American and a host of guests take you on a whirlwind trip of ten tracks constantly blending near omnipresent trumpet with many stringed accomplices including guitar, mandolin, banjo and ukulele. Bluegrass, Latino, folk and blues all add to the Track Dogs trimming as the songs sway between originals and choice adaptions from the works of other....

  www.wardknuturtownes.com As far as collaborations go, few can match the uniqueness and depth unveiled in the debut album from Ward Knutur Townes. Debut may be prematurely suggesting we are at the beginning of a lasting association, but the evidence presented in UNANSWERED signs this special project as far from exhausted. While the prior and future solo careers of Derby-based folk artist Lucy Ward, Canadian singer-songwriter Adyn Townes and Icelandic troubadour Svavar Knutur will remain core, it can safely be recorded that collaboration has showered them with creative enrichment. From the dark yet innovative days of the pandemic to the re-invigorated joy of inter-personal interaction, this North Atlantic unison punctuates a crowded sonic landscape with fascinating songs intrinsically curated and pristinely propelled from source to receptive ear.  The spark for this project was the Global Music Match initiative that entwined musicians via the online tools of the day. This trio...