Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.nathanbellmusic.com From a title subtle in phrase and a cover depicting a rather tattered image of his nation's flag you can deduce that Nathan Bell is rather miffed with some element of the status quo. So how do creatives set about inspiring change, voicing concern or just venting a spleen by throwing a small pebble in a large pond. The answer lies in mining a deep inner seam of literary expression, excavating a power to fuse folk 'n' blues and calling on a few colleagues to chip in along the way. The result is the provocative RED, WHITE AND AMERICAN BLUES (IT COULDN'T HAPPEN HERE) and the reception begins with an awe before grasping the magnitude of what has been produced. You have a preconception of some artists of a folk persuasion being content with guitar and words to fire volleys into the air, but Nathan Bell takes the raw template of his songs and spins them into quite a sophisticated state of affair. This moves an album to centre stage in the home where i...

www.siobhanmiller.com Maybe it was touring as an enhanced family; maybe it was demob happy at the end of a successful tour or just maybe it was the sheer joy and relief of playing live once again. More than likely it was a combination of many factors that led to the radiant buzz emanating from Siobhan Miller as she finally played this much re-scheduled Kitchen Garden gig. Flashback to April 2020 and a south of the border tour was about to start to promote a brand new album. The irony is that Birmingham was set to be the first stop in a run of dates supporting ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN. Now after a raft of enforced cancellations, the date is finally fulfilled as a final port of call before heading back to Scotland. In yet another creative Kitchen Garden configuration to support a sell out show, sufficient space was afforded for Miller and her touring combo to relish the freedom to express through music, song, vocal expertise and a little movement. This touring format consisted of husband Eua...

  www.emilyfrembgen.com The term 'anti folk' has caught the eye a couple of times recently leading to a little delve into its origins which apparently surfaced in New York extending overseas to enclaves such as London and Brighton. One new name accruing the tag is Emily Frembgen, and from a vast pool of stateside music falling at my feet the task was undertaken to find out a little more about her. Just to the put the genre term to bed, the negative association with the world 'anti' is not felt on the latest record and the curiously titled IT'S ME OR THE DOG has moved the dial along for this artist, if perhaps not so the genre. The back catalogue of Emily Frembgen is attracted to odd years as short albums hit the shelves in '13, '15, and '17. 2019 is the exception with nothing while 2021 sees the trend re-continue with a nine-track effort to provide a more comprehensive assessment of where her music sits. First of all there is a conventional feel to the s...

  www.adaleamusic.com Oh, the dreaded trend of making capital letters expendable in album titles strikes again. A trait that extends to each of the eleven tracks that carry the inner thoughts and desires of a Canadien songwriter expressing their whims via the medium of mild electronica mixed with more organic fare. On the other hand who makes these rules and sometimes it's far more productive to ride the tide if the surf is good. Ada Lea has steered from the concise punchy route when naming her second album following a 2019 debut which may or may not have any relevance to her latest release. However viewed through a stand alone lens there is a sonic charm to a collection that peeps out from an indie hole with a magnetic appeal to anybody who likes a slice of alt-folk pop with shades of singer-songwriter sentiment.  This album with the lengthy title fills a slot in my listening schedule that was occupied by Jess Williamson and Phoebe Bridgers in 2020. The release has had a prot...

  www.anaegge.com The apparent chaos and wreckage depicted on the cover of Ana Egge's new album is symbolic to the way there appears to be a concerted attempt to shake things up in the content offered. If you are in the camp of BETWEEN US being the entry point to the expanding back catalogue of this singer-songwriter then heads may be scratched as to where to place such an innovative and random roaming album. To get the best out of this eleven track release advice is to let it do the leg work and take you to places feeling right at the point of each listen. While on the surface of not being a likely candidate to flourish in the car CD, the mood and tone of Egge's approach to music making pierced the allotted zone to sink deep into the subconscious cavern stored to the brim with sounds that leave their mark.  From a scattered and strewn base, the assembled pieces slowly build a picture of an artist exploring, curating and boldly blurring convention. All this is done without los...

  www.audreyspillman.com Although her own recording career stretches back a lot further, it is only in recent years where the name Audrey Spillman has started to appear on the credits of albums from collaborations like The Orphan Brigade and Buffalo Blood thus opening doors to a whole new listenership. The link lies with her husband Nielsen Hubbard, the go-to producer of so many recent Nashville albums with a left field songwriter folk streak to them. Now is the time for the spotlight to shine brightly on a vibrant songwriter blessed with an equally as compelling voice. There was no surprise in Spillman staying close to home for the production duties on NEON DREAM, and the marital partnership has extended into the field of album creation with a nine-strong song collection exploring a rich seam of multi-tempo sounds. There is a neat symmetry to the songwriting process with four solo compositions and an equal number of co-written efforts split by a version of ' Su...

www.jacobanddrinkwater.com Artists may rent a festival space but they wholly own the floor when their names are solely above the door. Following a successful early summer slot at nearby Beardy Folk and a more prestigious appearance of even nearer Moseley Folk just a few weeks ago, talented duo Tobias Ben Jacob and Lukas Drinkwater are now ruling the roost on a headline tour in advance of a brand new album. The Kitchen Garden is familiar turf for the pair of them, more so Lukas who trod the floors of the patio set up a a couple of months ago alongside wife Emily Barker.  A quick memory glance realised the stage had been discarded for this show, but the evening was pleasant enough with the aid of the visually impressive heaters to give the patio perhaps a final farewell for shows this year. Not surprisingly the upcoming new album MORE NOTES FROM THE FIELD flew proudly in the set list for this mid-September show, with the added bonus of a gig-exclusive physical CD gracing the merch ta...