Three Chords and the Truth UK

THOSE TEARS I’VE CRIED by Steve Scott Country is an intriguing release which succeeds in both striving to conform and challenge convention. With a very slick presentation and set up, Steve seems to have a firm idea of where he is heading .The radio friendly vibes which Steve does not hide as an intended influence are prevalent across the record and the themes will resonate with many. You get the impression that Steve is a highly focussed and principled person and there is sufficient merit in the record to buy into what he is trying to achieve. The slogans and hyperbole liberally frequent his online profile and they are not too far from the mark in suggesting that Steve Scott is attempting to marry the ideals of country music with the more urban sounds of Detroit Michigan. Certainly many bases are covered throughout the eleven tracks which make up Steve’s sophomore solo release, One concern is whether there is enough country in it for that genre or being suitably progressive enou...

Buoyed by a six month stint in Austin Texas, Birmingham based family group The Toy Hearts have further cemented their passion for Western Swing by releasing this short collection of tunes they mastered during their Lone Star State stay. Over the last couple of years their live show has evolved from a Bluegrass bias to one more influenced by a traditional Texas sound and previous coverage of the band has commented on how the switch has embraced their talents.  This extended play release may be brief but FLYIN’ TOO HIGH is further proof that they are very fine interpretative exponents of a style anchored to the core of country music.   The four tracks selected for recording are all non-originals (their song writing skills have been temporarily put on hold) but they formed part of their many shifts undertaken keeping the floors in Austin’s dance halls busy. They may not be songs many people will be previously aware of but one of The Toy Hearts missions is to share a love a...

With their debut EP just about to be formally released, it was an ideal time to check out a live performance by UK based Folk-America duo The Black Feathers. Having been blown away by the five songs on their exceptional new record, it was hardly surprising to form the same opinion after enjoying this short set at the Tower of Song. It was a lengthy wait to see Sian Chandler and Ray Hughes take to the stage as they were officially the guests of the Rea River Roots club who hosted the evening. The format of this regular gathering is to run an open mic session for local folk and roots enthusiasts before introducing the main act around 10 pm. The diverse range of performers kept you suitably entertained before The Black Feathers elevated the quality level considerably straight from the off with their opening number ‘ You Will Be Mine’ . In the current vogue style of two voices and a single guitar, The Black Feathers showed they were the masters of such delivery with the key rede...

While this blog tends to prefer covering US artists who appear to be actively seeking UK coverage, occasionally you come across somebody who you feel would be a neat fit into the burgeoning Americana scene over here. Just after Christmas an impending release by Ashley Riley crossed my radar and made an instant impression. The good news is that ALL THE PRETTY THINGS has now been formally issued and if the hard copy may be tricky to get hold of at least that well known popular download store is making the record available over here. The reason you should check out Ashley’s album is that it’s a gorgeous collection of nine beautifully crafted songs that encompasses all that is valued in the folk/rock/acoustic scene. Her sublime vocals straddle a varied selection of song structures given added impetus by a backing band keen to mix strings and keys to full effect. Often you have to take a step back when a bio or press release indulges in name-checking hyperbole but it is difficult to...

I first discovered The Redlands Palomino Company around half a dozen years ago when they played the delightfully named Marr’s Bar in Worcester. In the intervening years they have flickered on and off my horizon, mainly catching their live shows such as an appearance at Americana International and a gig at The Musician in Leicester. However in the summer of 2013 they came right back to my notice big time with two storming sets at Palmfest and Maverick. This personal momentum is now being carried forward by a new album release which has the potential to cement their reputation as one of the UK’s premier alt-country rock bands. A striking feature of seeing Redlands live was how they managed to come over as a good time jovial band and at the same time deliver some cracking tunes with pure energy. Amongst many references to beer and kebabs, songs likes ‘Doing It For The Country ’, ‘ Wasted On You’ and ‘ She is Yours'  soon became embedded live standards. The big change with this...

Following in the footsteps of many great American troubadours of the past, David Berkeley has produced an outstanding package of songs to rival those traditionalists who trawled the land far and wide for song writing influence. THE FIRE IN MY HEAD is David’s fifth studio album and succeeds from start to finish in absorbing the listener and taking them on a literary journey fuelled by poetic licence. David extracts every sinew from his itinerant lifestyle and draws upon his Harvard education to create a gem of 8 recordings gift wrapped for your listening pleasure in pure sartorial elegance. The barren landscape of David’s latest base, New Mexico, has come up trumps in providing the inspiration for this record which gets its formal UK release on March 17 th . It also gives credence to the myth that freeing the mind from visual stimulation loosens the shackles for a total creative explosion. The simple production of David (vocals, guitars, percussion, bass), Bill Titus (guitar, keys,...

Away from the bright lights of Music Row and the glitz of corporate driven country music, the eastern part of Nashville continues to buzz with a style that takes the genre down a more folk and Americana inspired road. This thriving refuge of likeminded artists has been the perfect environment for Amelia White to flourish and her latest release looks set to take her residency in the city to a new level of artistic recognition. OLD POSTCARD is a gritty collection of creative guitar-led tunes that never waivers from balancing a rock overture with a tender heartfelt undercurrent. With numerous releases behind her in the dozen or so years since discovering Nashville as her true home, Amelia has settled on a sound that pays homage to her banjo playing grandfather while encompassing the passion acquired while cutting her teeth on the Boston rock and folk scene. The result is a highly competent and rock solid composition of 11 songs straddling the genre triangle of her influences and in p...