Three Chords and the Truth UK

  TEN BLUE SONGS is the tenth album from Hastings-based singer-songwriter-guitarist Jason McNiff. This time he has enlisted the production services of Trevor Moss (widely known for his duo act with wife Hannah Lou) for a record that came to fruition at Moss’s Bex-Pop studio. The pair honed in on capturing the essence of music in an unfiltered capacity and have successfully channeled McNiff’s applied intimacy into a warm receptive body of work. Rather than expressing the sentiment of the title, this collection emanates a reassuring contentment exhibiting a good place where creating music works effectively.   The songs feature McNiff’s sharp incisive writing with a nod to how greats in the literary world spin their wares. Additionally. an array of instrumentation has been assembled including clarinet, piano and violin, joining McNiff’s intrinsic guitar picking that has kept keen Americana ears piqued for over twenty years.   For a serious introspective songwriter, it is sur...

Emma Jane leaves nothing on the table as she pours a hefty dose of Caledonian soul into her latest record. LOST AT LAST comes across as one of those defining albums packed with organic verve and a strong desire to claim the narrative. Feeling is at the heart of the sound this Scottish singer-songwriter generates, whether plugging into a semi rock punchy groove or slipping into the considered slipstream of a mellower number. A challenge is set from its extensive structural ambience, yielding top marks from those in tune with the mood.   Like any 56-minute 15-track effort, there are moments when you wait for things to happen and other times when you reel from a knockout effect. The regional lilt to Emma Jane’s vocals keeps things grounded throughout. Valuable studio time has moulded an effective release where Emma Jane secures a home for her driven songs and honed in on how different facets keep her writing tight and brimming with opportunist mettle.   There are three distinct s...

  Michael McDermott has never sounded more determined to leave a literary imprint on the frenzied world of rock and roll. Through ire, empathy and forensic storytelling, he shines a light on dark corners and packs a powerful punch where it needs to be landed. Words scatter across the page   machine gun style then beautifully reassemble into sincere lyrical poetic prose. Characters emerge, are dissected, championed, sometimes brutally exposed, but rarely left with no purpose. He writes lyrics that transcend the vehicle of the song. They stand alone, as alluring for the eye as the ear.  Within the framework of eleven combustable tracks, a vignette of B movies simmer and explode. Life through the lens of Michael McDermott radiates the minutia and sparks the most basic human existences into roaring arches of flammable fiction. A stark bout of reality juxtaposes the ear for a sweet melody and a popular coating depicting what courted widespread appeal in the past.  FLOWERS...