Three Chords and the Truth UK

  ‘So long it’s been good to know you’ is the promotional tagline as Rod Picott brings the curtain down on the touring phase of his life. A sentiment shared by legions of fans who have embraced his music for a long time. The irony is that twenty-five years since hitting the road new venues and new fans are still being found. They are seeing an artist in a good place savouring every moment of this extended last dance. Thimblemill Library is located in the Smethwick/Bearwood area on the Sandwell side of the Birmingham border and hosts a vibrant array of arts events. It was a new and fitting setting for one of the final shows before Picott heads home to pursue his literary passion.  With no support on the evening, the focus was on a pair of sets highlighting what has made Rod Picott such a well-respected figure on the touring circuit. Clad in a trademark denim shirt and through the gruff tone of well-tested vocals, he announced his arrival with ‘ Digging Ditches’ , almost a metap...

  The test of a good album is endurance and an ability to eternally pack a powerful punch. A timeless asset also helps so new listeners can tap into it at anytime and grasp its relevance. There was no indication from the floor of the Hare and Hounds venue 2 to when folks first listened to David Fords’s seminal 2005 album. An attentive and polite gathering offered minimal verbal engagement so some may have been there at its birth while others wrapped their ears around it for the first time in the run up to the gig. In extreme circumstances the album may be a totally new experience in a whirl of untested gig intent. One certainty was that David Ford would give the 20th anniversary of I SINCERELY APOLOGISE FOR ALL THE TROUBLE I’VE CAUSED a prized and precious update.  In recent years, David Ford’s career has been more in collaboration than focussing on the solo presence. His work with Jarrod Dickenson, Annie Dressner and Michele Stodart are three recent examples and exposure with...

Brandy Clark’s recent shows have been under the banner ‘The Art of the Storyteller’ but this only paints half a picture From small town Washington through the cut and thrust world of commercial Nashville to a gentler place for pursuing a craft, the art of telling a story full of melodic twists in a narrow three-minute window is nailed. Songs are the currency for Brandy Clark’s rich musical existence. The pleasure of listening live unfiltered in a shared space will always retain a special feel. The Institute’s second room is not normally on Birmingham’s intimate venue list but a pin drop exposure to around eighteen meticulously presented Brandy Clark songs turned it into one. This was Clark’s third visit to Birmingham. The Glee Club in 2016 welcomed an artist who had just broke into the mainstream with recognition shifting from writer to performer. By the time she returned to the Town Hall a year later ambitions were on a different level. Sadly, that evening was marred by a ridiculously...

Larkin Poe is a band who know how to stitch together an identity. They have gravitated from the roots-infused bluegrass-inspired Lovell sisters to a fully fledged electric outfit pile driving ornate-styled blues rock spiced with the organic tastes of the Deep South. Rebecca shreds a mean guitar and lifts the roof off venues with her soaring rock vocals. Megan plays a multitude of lap guitars with grit and guile applying posture and animation alongside backing and harmony vocals. The band’s growth from playing the Hare and Hounds in Birmingham’s Kings Heath suburb in 2014 to almost selling out the large room of the city centre-located Institute eleven years later is a testimony to a smart evolution. Along the way they have accrued a rock audience but if you spend an hour and half watching the stage show they weave in so many influences. Larkin Poe is a sharp band reaching out far from a barrage of amped up electrification.   The Birmingham show was the latest stop on the Bloom to...

  On one plane, the music of Toria Wooff serenely drifts across the misty West Lancashire Moors. On another, she is playing Dead Wax in an inner city district of Birmingham on a Friday night. In one world her gorgeous ethereal sound permeates the skin of an attentive listener. In another, it has to compete with sound gremlins turning a speaker into a Neil Young tribute. Good music wins the day as this singer-songwriter from Horwich near Bolton accrued a new posse of fans in the midst of a debut show in Birmingham. Dead Wax is one of those places that has re-invented Digbeth as a burgeoning hub in Birmingham’s nightlife scene. Live music spills out of multiple spaces inside the venue with Toria Wooff offered an outside covered yard warmed by the odd heater dotted around. Following an inauspicious entry, a spacious setting comfortably accommodated those seeking a new artist whose ripples have increased since the release of a self-titled debut album. The show served affirmation of an ...

  Kirsten Adamson’s return to Birmingham possessed an extra zest and injected a fresh dose of energy. The two previous visits to the Kitchen Garden were in a duo format accompanied by guitarist Jon Mackenzie, a stripped back convention in common with most of the acts passing through this intimate venue accessed on an evening through the bustling Fletcher’s Bar in the eclectic suburb of Kings Heath. This time it was all guns blazing with drums, bass and keys pushing the line up to a five-piece squeezing into the tight performance space. A poor band would demolish the special acoustics of this brick walled confined venue; the Tanagers navigated the challenge to deliver an escalating accomplished performance nailing an optimum sound. From a neatly wrapped fairly lo-fi first set the show adopted a different sheen after the break with the band turning up the volume to match the endeavour of an enthusiastically packed audience.  Adamson brought the full band down from Scotland this ...

  The holy trinity of artist, audience and venue were impeccably in place to create a wondrous moment of unfiltered music. Songs, sounds and guitar playing melted into an intimate air. The fixated attentive gaze of each audience member absorbed a pulse evoking a mindful retreat. Some are grounded, intoxicated by every movement whether caressing a string or sharing a lyric, others drift into an alternate state serenaded by the sweet murmur of a softly spun piece of performative art.  A place - warm, friendly and comfortably populated - providing a realm to enable raw music to flourish. Tens of pairs of listening ears tuned to a performer crystallising the space afforded them. A musician-writer- purveyor of sonic emotion maximising the heights of a calling. The stage a natural domain. Stories told through words - sung and spoken, feelings conveyed through a pair of lightly touched guitars breathing a life in unison with their player. The Kitchen Garden, an enabler of organic mus...

  www.stephensimmonsmusic.com Stephen Simmons epitomises the striving singer-songwriter. The perfect song will never be found but each effort is an elevated stepping stone to a fictional place of resigned contentment. The Courtney Marie Andrews lyric 'Is this the journey or the destination/Is this love or is this addiction.' often brings to mind those who pursue a lengthy career in music. The journey holds true to artists like Stephen Simmons especially when as a fan you have been in the possession of a virtual ticket for around a decade, effectively half the career span. Only the artist would testify to the balance between love and addiction when making music. A likely mixture of both goes into the pot to serve music drenched in truth and flavoured with shots of humble integrity.  HUNCH is the twelfth stopping off point for a proud Tennessean never afraid of shedding home tinted blinkers and view an horizon of challenge. Across the ten tracks of this staunchly ideal...

  The latest offering from Scott Anchor and the Heavyweights is packed with dreamy jangle vibes pulling several strands together in a haze of riveting tasteful melodic guitar rock. Nestled in the hinterland of Americana, STRANGE WEATHER is a buoyant collection of supercharged tunes masterly created and primed for ears preferring a refined sound from exerted guitars.  Anchors exploits the connective craft of DIY production to never lose sight what resonates and hooks in a varied crowd. There are nods to Ryan Adams and Tom Petty stateside while entrenched in homeland sensibilities.  It distances itself  from a niche zone uniting all comers from multiple scenes.  The essence of STRANGE WEATHER is quintessentially English, specifically Devonian, yet universal in outlook. Scott Anchors and the Heavyweights present a  record to banish the blues and lose yourself in songs high on passion and smart on sound.   The album is scheduled for release on October 17th...

  www.hollycartermusic.com Holly Carter’s reputation as a talented in-demand instrumentalist is well documented and evidenced in industry-wide acclaim. The flip side to blossoming in the shadows is bravely moving up front and taking your turn to present a bunch of largely self-written songs. Applied adept guitar and award-winning pedal steel retain a charm at the heart of Carter’s armoury but this time homely spun vocals accompany themes packaged up in the sentiment of the album title. LEAVE YOUR MARK unveils as eight smartly paraded original songs honing in on micro and macro positive effects that effectively leave a mark; a special historical re-interpretation deepening the quality of the fare and a parting instrumental reaffirming the breadth of Carter’s appeal. Holly Carter is embedded in socially conscious causes of the past and present as well as shining a light on some modern-day stigmas. She writes with care and compassion elegantly conveying her thoughts in enticingly ap...

  www.katiespencer.net The music career of Katie Spencer is set to get its biggest boost yet with the release of her latest album. WHAT LOVE IS encompasses all the attributes making this Yorkshire-based artist an articulate purveyor of intricately crafted softly spun guitar music. The major development is the platform afforded starting with a high quality studio and production team coupled with a promotional presence befitting an artist primed for a bigger stage. An unassuming innocence still decorates the sound and a grounded essence blends a DIY past with tinges of enhanced sophistication. The ten tracks throw a comfort blanket over the listening experience with a tender warmth radiating from finely etched vocals. Katie Spencer is a mood maker with a deft touch connecting seamlessly through her adhering music. Four singles have formed a lengthy run up to the release date with the final one proving the most interesting lyrically. ‘ It Was Then That I Knew Love’ deals with the pos...

  www.ninebarrow.co.uk   Dorset-based folk duo Ninebarrow have ambitiously reshaped the past on a new record adorned with choral splendour. Five albums across a dozen years kept Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere busy in the studio alongside countless other ventures and career advancing activities. The pair’s sixth album is somewhat of a greatest hits with a twist. THE HOUR OF THE BLACKBIRD not only enjoys the multiple talents of Jon and Jay but the voices of two choirs - Hampshire’s Hart Voices and Surrey’s Chantry Singers. The crux of the album is that thirteen previously recorded songs (a mix of originals, covers and traditional pieces) open in the conventional way of their original format before layers of choral voices are weaved in injecting a sense of grandeur - both stirring and deeply emotive. The result is an innovative aural massage breathing fresh life into well-rehearsed material.  All bar one of the tracks appear on previous Ninebarrow albums, the odd one out...