Three Chords and the Truth UK

With an intensity of rawness and passion, Michelle LeBlanc announces her arrival as a recording artist in cracking style. A MAN LIKE YOU may be short and sharp in its five-track EP format, but it is certainly sweet, and packs a powerful punch. Tagging a genre is a tough task as it smartly represents all that is vibrant about modern Nashville, especially those active on the fringes of the independent sector. Whether you view this record from a country, pop, Americana or rock direction, crumbs of appreciation will gradually accumulate. Alternatively, take a listen across the wires without any pre-ordained ideas and its rampant hooks take hold. Michelle is a South Carolina native now based in Nashville and the theme of this record aligns to the experience of moving to Music City from a spell in New York. In a well-worn and trusted formula of putting the pain of doomed love to pen, the five tracks are candid in their clarity, with one or two figurative inclusions. Of the two singles...

On the eve of the ‘beast from the east’, it was a more a case of ‘best from the west’ as The LYNNeS teamed up to bring a blast of Canadian country-folk to the shores of the old country. You do not want to mention the cold too loudly in the company of a couple of Ottawa residents, but they did everything in their midst to warm the hearts of a Birmingham crowd fine-tuned in seeking out distinguished music. Maybe the confab to generate the name that would herald Lynne Hanson and Lynn Miles as a recording duo did not last too long. However, on the evidence presented this evening, the legacy is set to hang around for quite a while. The two singer-songwriters are an amalgam of comparisons and contrasts, yet so united when it all boils down to penning the dedicated song. Before this collaboration formalised, song co-writes had accrued and it was a natural step to wrap a bunch of them into a full record. HEARTBREAK SONG FOR THE RADIO emerged as the accumulation of their efforts and it was a...

It is impossible to attend a Thimblemill Library gig and not let the visual splendour of rows of books seep into your thoughts. When you factor in an English Literature and Creative Writing graduate (or major depending on your language perspective) into the equation, who co-incidentally happens to write the most gorgeous of songs, the scene is perfectly set. Caroline Spence may have been 4,000 miles from her Nashville home, and on an inaugural overseas tour, but she settled into the surroundings without hesitation and went on to deliver a sublime performance of songs soaked to the core with southern sentiment. Any doubts that the promise of SPADES & ROSES would not live up to its billing drifted away into a cold Midlands night, suitably insulated by the warmth of the performance. The album in question is Caroline’s second full length release and bravely fought off a challenge from some upstart going by the name of Jason Isbell to earn this coveted accolade in 2017. Another heal...

Music sans frontiers. No apology for the cross language fertilisation as this is symbolic to the way borders and barriers erode in the music of Gem Andrews. Perhaps it is indicative to an artist calling Liverpool, Newcastle, Vancouver and Berlin periodically their home that wide influences are soaked up. Throw into the mix echoes of folk and country alongside a tentative alternative streak, and you delve deeper into the eclectic nature of NORTH, which makes you take note of Gem Andrews as a recording artist. Throughout the half hour of its tenure, not an inch of the canvas remains untouched thus creating a record rich in accomplishment. NORTH is the third album from Berlin-based Gem and the follow up to the well-received VANCOUVER that surfaced to acclaim in 2016. You should start to get the drift that both titles saunter into geographical territory, with some imagination required to linking in her debut album SCATTER. Relevant or not, surroundings have probably played a major part...

Caleb Caudle may have been dealt a handful of aces, but he has chosen an opportune moment to play them in the shape of a fabulous new album. CRUSHED COINS scores high on a number of fronts, even to the extent of the ironed out imperfections suggesting not all great albums need an edge of vulnerability. What this North Carolinian singer-songwriter has done is take the basic sound ingredients of steel, keys and strings before adding in an articulate lyrical element to tear away the layers of primal emotion. A sophisticated mellowness wraps each one of the eleven tracks and delivers them to the listener with an extra coating of enticing melodies. This is song writing of the highest degree, blessed with an acute offering of leading the listener into the thought process without truly planting explicit ideas. This is best exemplified in the title track right at the core of the record with ‘Crushed Coins’ leaving its message open to interpretation, although within the recurring line of ‘t...

The concept of duality switched from the art world to its distant creative cousin of folk and acoustic music as the Big Comfy Bookshop set about curating the latest Friday evening presentation. The city of Coventry provided a centrally located platform for two artists to share their contrasting perspectives, while colluding in the ultimate union of excellence. Heading south from Humberside was evocative singer-songwriter Katie Spencer, symbolising Hull’s second gift to Coventry in the last couple of months in addition to passing the City of Culture baton. Meeting Katie on neutral ground was London-based folk artist Kirsty Merryn expressing a versatile approach to the medium of traditional English music. Both artists are active movers on the upward trajectory of the career curve and ably represented by well-received CD releases last year, successful in reaching out to new listeners. They mirror the vibrancy of an independent scene that seeks ways to be forever innovative, and possess...

Unsure about the origin or even the mythical existence of the coined phrase ‘old punks turn country’, but it’s a good one and starts the engine when referring to duo Hope in High Water. Not too sure whether ‘old’ is the apt word to describe Josh Chandler Morris and Carly Slade, yet the sound they’ve morphed into ploughs a traditional furrow. One certainty is that the past in some form or another has strongly influenced their music, whether in redemptive song writing or framing a vocal style. Perhaps country is a too narrow window to open onto their music, although a fair proportion of the new material shared this evening had a sad song twang about it. Folk and blues also play a significant part as the wider roots world is captured in a subtle mix of sincere originals and incisive covers. A return to Birmingham’s Kitchen Garden was one of the last stops on an inaugural headline tour for this Milton Keynes based couple. They had previously supported Worry Dolls and a songwriter’s se...