Three Chords and the Truth UK

The lure of the back room at the Hare and Hounds once again proved strong for Simone Felice who could not resist a return to this Birmingham location to open his latest UK tour. The ultra connective atmosphere inspired a chipper persona in an artist bound by genius song writing qualities within an idiosyncratic exterior. Interweaving high tensile songs between hypnotic pauses  creates an intense aura when this native from the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York hits the stage. Across two sets this evening, Felice pondered, toyed and conveyed a contented respect while powering through a bunch of songs reflecting a career enriched by many a smart manoeuvre. The production side of his work may be increasing in relevance (the latest project being the new Jade Bird album), but releasing his own material is never far from the table. A new single titled ‘ Puppet’ signalled the future, while the recent past dipped into last year’s THE PROJECTOR album with the title track inducing r...

On an evening where options were aplenty, sometimes it is worth taking a step into lesser known territory to get your live music fix. Despite Laura Veirs being a relatively successful recording artist for a number of years, our musical paths barely crossed. There was some impetus via her 2017 collaboration with Kd Lang and Neko Case in the Case/Lang/Veirs project, and further advancement in finally getting round to listening to last year’s THE LOOKOUT album, which was lavishly savoured upon discovery. So on an evening when Jarrod Dickenson played Moseley and the Transatlantic Sessions rode into town for their annual staging at the Symphony Hall, it was a singer-songwriter from Portland Oregon who won the day with the ticket purchase. The Laura Veirs show was the mid-priced event of the trio and held at St. Paul’s Church in the Jewellery Quarter area of Birmingham city centre. The operation behind Moseley Folk Festival promoted the gig and twinned this evening’s presentation with ...

What are the factors for deciding to hone in on any particular release? From the beginning, obtaining an advance copy of MAYONNAISE, the new release from Deer Tick, tossed a few interesting inquisitive points around. Firstly, they are a band never investigated before despite being on the known periphery for a number of years. Maybe also a quiet period for new material created a suitable window to take a step into their world and give the album a couple of spins as a taster. Throw in the status of this being an interim release mixing covers, alternate versions of old songs and a handful of newbies gave the exploration process plenty of teeth and avenues. On a side note, who can resist the striking cover sharing one of life’s delightful pleasures and the name Spencer Cullum Jr getting an insert alongside a song title. Where you stand on the mayonnaise debate may be irrelevant, but acknowledging one of Nashville’s premium pedal steel players, probably best known for his longstanding...

The new album by Megan Henwood epitomises some of the real strengths that exist today within the realm of artists that set out from a folk music base. This is not necessarily purely in the traditional form, but more from an alternative/contemporary angle where conventions wither in a tide of creative whim. To shed some light on the song style that lends itself to the material that forms RIVER, think of Megan co-habiting in the territory that has yielded exceptional albums from Laura Marling and Lucy Rose this year. This is British music almost boring a new hole to create a yet unnamed genre. Essentially, it’s innovative acoustic music, luring an audience with a captivating vocal appeal proving the ideal vehicle for deep meaningful songs. Megan first caught my ear a couple of years ago with the release of her second album HEAD HEART HAND. If the judge is the number of plays far exceeding those required for review evaluation, then RIVER is surpassing the previous record and proving...

Peter Bruntnell is one of those artists where you don’t have to search too hard to find someone who has a good word to say about him. Whatever you want to call the scene that he has been part of for over twenty years – alt country, roots rock, Americana - , the song writing prowess and the knack of delivering knockout full band performances has led to many plaudits. From a hazy memory, the West Midlands hasn’t seen too many live performances from him in recent times, so it was good to anticipate a few tunes being caught when a show at the Kitchen Garden was announced. Peter admitted that his solo acoustic shows are bit sparse these days, so he was prepared to go with the flow leading to an element of spontaneity sparked by a series of invited audience requests. The pattern of these songs was characterised by their popular appeal especially ‘Sea of Japan’ and ‘ Caroline ’. One request that did present a challenge was ‘ Jurassic Parking Lot’ , but not to be outdone this was duly de...

Moseley Folk: the only festival where you can watch a mid-Atlantic-styled alt-country act amidst a band of scurrying youngsters having a hay fight. Moseley Folk: the only festival which epitomised the sentiment of ‘Sunday morning coming down’ on a Friday teatime by the sequential scheduling of Seth Lakeman’s fiery fiddle playing and Nadia Reid’s absorbing Kiwi noir. Moseley Folk: the only festival where the blissful tones of Laura Marling persuaded the rain clouds to halt their activity. Regardless of where the 2017 renewal of the Moseley Folk Festival stands in comparison to its eleven previous stagings, this year’s had an alluring pulse that ignited a weekend of eclectic music. Whatever the persuasion, style or origin of influence, it’s all folk music dressed in many coats. John Moreland Is Moseley Folk Festival about the headliners across the weekend; the equally important artists plotting their road to stardom via the Kitchen Garden stage or the attendees content to just ...

Sandwiched between her previous album in 2010 and this latest release, Heather Lynne Horton was musically busy creating a wave as one-half of The Westies with husband Michael McDermott. Hot on the heels of Michael branching out with a solo record, Heather has also chosen this route with the highly emotive DON’T MESS WITH MRS. MURPHY. On the back of its US bow earlier in the summer, the record will get a resurgent boost in the UK via the good folks at At The Helm Records. The bottom line is that the album is an absolute absorbing listen, presenting an aural delight from its atmospheric opening to a moving finale. Like so many successful records, the sound blends numerous sources to a superlative extent. Americana fans with an alternative edge are amongst the audience likely to tap into the vast reservoir of an album packed with top notch writing to provide the literary element. However, no serious music fan is precluded, whether they are prone to tearing away the layers of a record ...

The name Marlon Williams may not be well known in the UK at the moment, but that has huge potential to change after witnessing his awesome set in the designated late night lounge on the opening day of this year’s SummerTyne Americana Festival. It was quite a coup to enlist the services of a New Zealand singer-songwriter en route to continuing his increasing growth in the US. Listening to his material online following the initial booking plus viewing an impressive KEXP radio showcase on You Tube, only probably prepared you for 10% of Marlon’s ultimate appeal. The vocal prowess of this South Island resident from the Land of the Long White Cloud at times soared in jaw dropping proportions as he used every second of the allotted hour to primarily paint the landscape with a heavy dose of noir. This was an artist adept at coaxing the listener into a semi-conscious state, oblivious to the surroundings while totally immersed in the depth of the music. The songs spawned mainly from Marlo...

Co-Pilgrim continue their fertile period of album releases with a brand new record bound and packaged to tempt a curious listener into a compendium of complexities and craft. It’s a record to challenge and delight, swaying the audience in a multiple of mood swings. Melodic and mellow comes up on the rails to ultimately pip fiery and fervid, but there are frequent elements of the record which places Co-Pilgrim at an intriguing point where 60s psychedelia meets late 80s pioneering Brit Pop meets 21 st century raw indie-Americana. Whether such associations cross the minds of Mike Gale and Joe Bennett when they hit the studio are mere speculative thoughts, but their music certainly courts independent reaction. The eight tracks, which symmetrically form MOON LAGOON, are full of cool sounds that soak deep into your pores. The symmetrical element comes from the fact that this appears to fit the double-sided vinyl format and that the first and last pieces linger longest in the positi...

Haunting, escapist and moving: although all you essentially need to know is that GOOD MORNING SKY, the debut mini-album from Yorkshire-based artist Katie Spencer, is very good. Sauntering along at a pedestrian pace allows time for each heartbeat of this record to align with that of the listener. The collection may only last twenty minutes and comprise of five tracks, but the enticing feel from sampling the work of a young singer-songwriter finding her own way in the music world sends out signals of a promising future. If you’re seeking an initial hook to display the music of Katie, think a slice of indie alternative folk. An eerie almost spiritual sound benefits from an acoustic backdrop interspersed with some cool electric. There are implicit soundtrack elements to the tunes which you could quite easily imagine adorning the moving images on some noir piece of celluloid. Apart from a relaxed languid exterior, the five songs leave an imprint to suggest an artist ahead of her cur...

When 2014’s RAZOR WIRE trickled into bespoke listening environments in the UK and Europe, little did we realise that this was the start of an intense love affair between Hannah Aldridge and a growing legion of admirers this side of the Atlantic. Subsequent tours encapsulating many shows and festival slots have fuelled this growth  which is set to burn a lot fiercer with the release of the follow up album. As indicated by Hannah at her shows last year, the new record would see a shift to a rockier sound and GOLD RUSH absolutely does that, failing to disguise any subtle change of direction. Regardless of any intention to rely solely on a heavily plugged-in amplification, the term rock is moderated by Hannah’s southern sensibility which will always inadvertedly draw influences from a wide pool of styles. This is what makes her music special and accessible, whether you approach it from an alternative, folk rock or alt-country starting point. The ten tracks which form GOLD RU...

Perhaps it was appropriate that Ruth Theodore’s return to Birmingham was held in a library and all the connotations of where different art forms can take you. So among the fact, fiction, sonnets and surrealism, a series of thought provoking songs were sewn in an inimitable style and soundly planted. There is a mind stretching escapism to her music. This can have as much effect of freeing your own mind of everyday clutter as to truly getting inside the cognitive element of Ruth. Hailing from London, and the architect of half a dozen albums, Ruth is currently heading out on tour in support of her latest record CACTACUS. This album saw the light of day in 2016 with the tour being aligned to the release of the single ‘ Kissing in Traffic’ . Like so much of the material from the new record, this track appeared in Ruth’s second set where she added the keyboard as her alternative instrument of choice to the trusty guitar. The assertion that the show’s impromptu set list was going to ...