Three Chords and the Truth UK

It may have only been the first day of the year’s fourth quarter but for me that was plenty early enough for Mary Gauthier to sing her festive masterpiece ‘Christmas in Paradise’ . On an evening of countless highs, the cries of Mary’s character yelling ‘Merry Christmas y’all’ had to share the limelight with fascinating songs written with soldiers, many enlightening tales from the inside and of course a stream of old favourites. This evening had the special stamp marked right across it as a transfixed audience marvelled at an artist embedded into the core of country, Americana and roots music. Whether pouring her heart into the riveting tracks adorning her latest album TROUBLE AND LOVE or captivating those present with the song ‘ Iraq ’ telling the untold story of conflict, Mary extolled every virtue of a singer-songwriter riding a career long wave of creative artistry. To cap a memorable evening, or to be more precise open it, Ben Glover had the live opportunity to present sever...

Brandishing a new album full of introspection, honesty and renewed belief, Jess Klein returned to Birmingham to give a reminder of how fortunate we are to host so many fine Austin-based artists prepared to spread their talents far and wide. With the mission to nudge the fascinating experience of spending an evening in the company of such performers to more locals still work-in-progress, the task is made much easier when artists of the calibre of Mike June join the fray. Together Mike and Jess played a brace of enlightening sets to stamp an indelible mark on those selecting the Kitchen Garden Café for their Monday evening entertainment. Jess’s new album LEARNING FAITH hit the airwaves earlier this year and represents a much deeper phase of her writing career with the second word of its title serving as the record’s inspiration. There is a more distinct blues infused sound to this release and, when hitting her stride, you could sense Jess getting deeper into the songs. Starting off ...

Follow the linear trail back of the sound of Girls Guns and Glory’s fifth album GOOD LUCK and your path will wind from modern day American roots rock, through post punk new wave, call at an outlaw honky tonk and end up at its straight down the middle-rock n’ roll source. Throughout its entirety, the album never loses sight of that long lasting country trait of mixing storytelling lyrics with a deep rooted melodic sound. This four piece combo from Boston, Massachusetts can be mightily proud of a record that sparkles with clarity and maximises frenetic guitar with clever melodies. Led by vocalist, guitarist and prime songwriter Ward Hayden, Girls Guns and Glory pay their guitar dues on a record democratic in its name origin and just as eclectic in the moods it succeeds in conveying. Awash with potential stand out numbers, the song with the most profound poignancy is the spine tingling ‘Centralia PA’ , a reflection on a town bled to death by the detrimental side of coal mining. The...

Ok, not entirely relevant to the review but when news broke that Sarah Borges had returned to the studio and was bringing her new record to the UK, visions of her singing while standing on the bar during the last trip came flooding back. While not an act of drunken mayhem, it epitomized the energy of her show and the good news is that Sarah has lost none of her passion during this gap of a couple of years. A split from her backing band The Broken Singles led to this enforced hiatus but Sarah has dusted herself down and RADIO SWEETHEART is a blistering revival record which rocks more than rolls in the truest sense. Renewed faith in Sarah was bestowed upon her by Kentucky based Lonesome Day Records and it is with fellow label artists Girls Guns and Glory that the UK return is arranged including a visit to the scene of the bar singing episode in Nottingham. The initial jolt to get the record in motion was a successful crowd fundraising activity and teaming up with producer Steve Be...

The market may be getting a little crowded with male/female acoustic folk duos but if everybody moves up a little, there is room for Edinburgh based outfit The Jellyman’s Daughter. While your search for electric influence will be futile, splendid harmonies are aplenty as well as luscious individual vocal pieces primarily from co-member Emily Kelly. What makes this duo stand out is the prominent role for Graham Coe’s cello and this is a particularly brave move for an instrument which can have a somewhat solemn feel to it when exposed. However The Jellyman’s Daughter succeeds in shaping their songs around the sound and exploiting its mood in an appealing way. If The Black Feathers head the UK march to fill the finally deceased Civil Wars gap, then The Jellyman’s Daughter are not too far behind and now have a debut self-titled full release to chart their drive towards wider recognition. Their path to me was supporting Samantha Crain at a recent Edinburgh gig and it didn’t require t...

When played well pedal and lap steel can produce an emotion sapping accompaniment to songs designed to explore some of the darker places in our mind. Whether by experience or imagination, Luke Tuchscherer’s initial deep dive into the world of country music has risen back to the surface with an album capturing that sound and mood. With cultured arrangements and explicit songs baring the scars of life, YOU GET SO ALONE AT TIMES IT JUST MAKES SENSE is not an album to be consumed lightly but then we all know that the best records never shy away from a little pain. Whybirds drummer Luke has stepped forward to go alone on this debut solo release and has the potential to create more than a ripple in the UK's Americana and alt-country community, although with its deep sense of tradition perhaps the alt tag should be dropped. This record is awash with top notch writing, stellar playing and more importantly connects instantly without the need to go down the grower route. Just as the p...

Over the last couple of years, enormous pleasure has been derived from delving into the Canadian folk, roots and country scene revealing a tight knit community spanning this vast land. Discovering new artists and then exploring their back catalogue has often proved to be a rewarding experience with the latest in a lengthy line being Suzie Ungerleider, or to be more precise, her recording name of Oh Susanna. Suzie had been on my radar for a while so the opportunity to feature her new album NAMEDROPPER is long overdue for such an established artist. This new album sees Suzie take a break from writing, so fellow music enthusiasts using the release as an introductory tool will get an instant feel of her vocal talent and ability to interpret the songs of others. If the thought of a covers album leaves you indifferent, fear not as this is more of a commissioning project enlisting the great and the good of Canadian song writing talent. All fourteen tracks are seeing their recorded life...