Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.hannahbenmusic.com Among the plethora of female-male duo acts operating in the UK folk scene, Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage are in the group more than a little partial for mixing the sounds of the British Isles and the North American continent, most pertinently, Appalachia. 'But it all comes from the British Isles' is often mooted, though while largely correct from a traditional angle, arrangements, touches and versions tend to adopt a distinctive edge when travelling afar. The music of this acclaimed duo strands the fault line where homespun and Americana roots sounds diverge. This is hugely prominent on the brand new album where Sanders and Savage cast the magic wand of their musical artistry across an array of largely traditional songs. INK OF THE ROSY MORNING weighs in at a nice round number of ten tracks with the odd two out being the sole original from the pen of the duo and a contemporary cover designated to close the curtains on a serenely satisfying album. ...

  www.beaujennings.com Some records race through the gears at a rapid pace, while others ease into cruise control at a more gentle rate. HEAVY LIGHT by Oklahoma outfit Beau Jennings & the Tigers is a candidate for the latter and you really feel the benefit of its luscious tones once you've road tested the tunes with a few preliminary spins. What exudes when fully bedded in is a wide scope of malleable rock structured by a mix of left field Americana and a dashing stab at synching the popular song. Jennings, an experienced rocker in a variety of guises, is the first to admit that the Tigers do a lot of the heavy lifting, but the bare bones he brings coupled with highly capable upfront skills mould a refreshing and portable release. Portable to the extent that it makes a valued travel accompaniment whether blasting out down the highway or plugged in for more insular consumption.  Beau Jennings is the latest in a string of artists from the Black Mesa Records label to get some...

  www.theremittencemen.com In these days where genre classification gets a bad press, some records are as pure as you can get and totally dismiss any thoughts of blurring styles. The Remittance Men toss around the term 'northern country', but spinning the delights of their debut album will raise the bar of Americana and challenge any other release to knock it off a perch of genre flagship. A striking title of SCOUNDRELS, DREAMERS & SECOND SONS is the launch pad for ten tunes to ram home the significance of a nation's ground dirt music and the prosperous songs that somehow flourish from the backyards, back roads and both side of the tracks.  The northern link in the 'official' suggested moniker displays the Massachussets base of a band literally jumbled together to hook up the vocals and songwriting of Tom Robertson and the producing/guitar playing skills of Andy Santospago. Ten original tracks either proved a step too far for this debut album or there was a comp...

  www.blairdunlop.com Over the last nine years of catching Blair Dunlop live, he has shared the bill with a string of similar artists across the spectrum. Names like Larkin Poe, Carrivick Sisters, Emma Stevens and Kat Gilmour come to mind as starters. Most of these were casual acquaintances with only the latter gravitating closely to his work as part of one of the band set ups. This year the theme continued, albeit with an intensity not seen before from an artist that has tended to plough the solo route while forging a career away from his family ties as son of folk legend Ashley Hutchings. Warwickshire-based folk singer Ellie Gowers was added to the current tour as the opening artist, but the distance travelled in a short time has been far further than playing a few tunes to warm an audience up. A near sold out Kitchen Garden show upon a return to Birmingham left those in attendance with three things to ponder: the breadth of Blair Dunlop's live credentials, the potential of Ellie...

  www.ionalane.com My first visit to the now sadly closed Big Comfy Bookshop in Coventry was primarily to see a new recently discovered artist at the time in Katie Spencer. Like many music presentations at this versatile venue over the years, a trio of artists formed the bill and this occasion had the infrequent occurrence of two performers with the first name Iona. Headlining that show was Iona Fyfe, a wonderful traditional vocalist embedded as much in the Scottish landscape as the name itself. Opening the evening was Iona Lane, an English folk singer-songwriter still at university very much finding her way in the acoustic roots scene. Fast forward from that December night in 2017 and the time has arrived for Iona Lane to make a strident leap with the release of her debut album. The north of England, and more specifically her current base of Leeds, has largely been the domain to date, but a significant eye has always been cast north of the border especially its rugged ba...

www.trackdogs.com Track Dogs and me have been operating in parallel universes for a long time. The name was there on the horizon with the music getting close to landing a couple of times. There was even a couple of near misses on the live front with festival withdrawals leaving a disconnect that was destined to remain until an opportune moment intervened. Now shifting plates have bridged the gap and some time has been afforded to take in the wares offered from their latest album. WHERE TO NOW? is as eclectic as you would expect from a band swinging to the rhythm of a pan-European existence and a make up even spanning the continents.  The base sound swivels between Latino, Celtic and English folk. All with a strident positive beat that strikes a chord with listeners happy to hook up with a band on a carousel ride. A sleuth of quieter tracks do apply the brakes occasionally, but it is the accessible anthems that pitch the record. You don't require much imagination to project this sou...

  www.jesperlindell.com The link between Scandinavia and all things Americana is historically a strong one, no more so than in a music context. That link is about to be considerably strengthened with the release of the brand new Jesper Lindell album. By just spinning the first couple of tracks associations run riot in the mind, a notion duly confirmed when you start to scan across the first layer of content. All roads head west to a certain iconic and ironically named band, and by the fourth song stars align further when we learn that title track-ish ' Twilight' is lifted from The Band's catalogue with Amy Helm, daughter of Levon, joining Lindell to the extent of getting the 'featuring' credit. At this point an intoxicating soulful rock sound has sealed an enticing deal between artist and listener. TWILIGHTS is a rousing package of ten exceptionally curated tracks soaked in the evocative vocals of Lindell and a solid band sound excelling in all the right moments. We...