2017 Album Reviews (Click on the cover for link)

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Gig Review: Sorrel Nation - Thimblemill Library, Smethwick. Friday 9th May 2025

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  www.sorrelnationmusic.com Sometimes cracking the gig code can be a straightforward process. Bring your 'A' game, cover the basics and connect with the audience. Mutual respect can go a long way to firming up a base at the grassroots. Sorrel Nation starts from the high water mark of a sublime voice, expressive songwriter and smart band arranger, yet so many other aspects of her approach are key to a growing presence on multiple UK music scenes. Whether based in her native home county of Kent or living a rambling life on the road, an aura of experience coats a stage craft piercing new areas with each tour. Spring 2025 evolves around the launch of the vinyl format of the debut album LOST EN ROUTE and an inaugural show in the West Midlands yielded more converts to a growing band. Making inroads in a crowded independent pool of folk-infused contemporary acts can be demanding and littered with obstacles. Promising signs of Sorrel Nation establishing a foothold were laid bare in Thi...
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Album Review: Jason Ringenberg - Rhinestoned

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  www.jasonringenberg.com You can't keep a good man down and Jason Ringenberg is one of the best of them. Boosted by the reception and satisfaction of his 2018 album STAND TALL, everybody's favourite cowpunk, witty, incisive, intelligent lyricist is back with another record as deep and broad as its predecessor. RHINESTONED is a passionate release depicting every inch the portrayal of Jason Ringenberg, namely historical curator, proud custodian of a style and blessed with a cavernous conscious. The starting point of this album may have been some of the leftovers of the previous record, but it has soon developed its own entity and matches up well with what Ringenberg has produced in a long career whether heading the Scorchers, playing up to the Farmer Jason moniker or just the plain solo act with something to offer.  This album has all the distinctive hallmarks of a Jason Ringenberg record from a vocal perspective as well as the routes chosen for the material. Of the four tracks...
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Album Review: Annie Capps - How Can I Say This?

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  www.anniecapps.com If you enjoy diving into a deep lyrical pool, then the latest album from Annie Capps is a smart listener's delight. Taking a detour from her work with partner Rod, she plunges headlong into this stark and thoughtful solo project to deliver a dozen-strong collection. This presents HOW CAN I SAY THIS? as a body of personally driven songwriting of the highest calibre.  The notes inform a 40-strong cast of all women collaborators have assisted on this project, but you feel forever secure in the solo arms of a songwriter exploring life and nostalgia from numerous angles and experiences. The album plays out on a level plane with minimal highs and lows. A few more notable peaks may have boosted the impact for casual listeners, but sufficient elegance and guile puts the album firmly on the road to laudable acceptance. Truth or fiction are a creative writer's prerogative. We can only surmise the directions Capps takes throughout the songs here. She relies heavily o...
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