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A new name to me, but based on the new EP, ‘Tigers in Your Backyard (Nocturnal Edition)’, Molly Murphy is one to watch. Initially, Molly embarked on a promising college career as a double Film and English Major pursuing a career in screenwriting but left all that behind to form a band (as you do). Murphy’s latest release finds the singer-songwriter adding a modern sheen to her traditional Celtic roots.
Read MoreFred Abbott may be better known to you as the guitarist from the much-loved and hard-to-pigeonhole band Noah & The Whale. A popular live draw, their refreshing, inventive approach to songwriting and record-making set them apart from the crowd but ultimately the band split in 2015, with four albums to their name. Abbott’s solo debut, Serious Poke, appeared shortly after, sporting a more straightforward, guitar-centred sound. Eight years later - and having gained broad experience as a session musician and producer in between - Abbott has returned with Shining Under The Soot, a mature and beautifully crafted follow-up, brimming with energy and heart.
Read MoreLedfoot aka Tim Scott McConnell and Ronni Le Tekrø seem, at first look, like an odd pair. Tim, born in Florida, has been based in Norway for many years, adopting the Ledfoot moniker in 2007 after a string of solo releases on major labels and as frontman of The Havalinas. Ronni Le Tekrø is best known as the guitarist in TNT, Norwegian rock royalty, enjoying considerable international success since their formation in 1982. The Norwegian connection would seem to be the cement here, and ‘Limited Edition Lava Lamp’ is their second record as a duo.
Read MoreFor bands and singer-songwriters, 2020 was hardly the best year to release a new album. And let’s face it, 2021 wasn’t much better. The only hope for artists with new music was that they could somehow connect online, as reaching fans via physical touring was out of the question. As a result, countless records were overlooked, under-noticed and sailed away, unloved. Scott Matthews released his eighth album, the sonically ambitious New Skin, in December 2020, at the start of a winter most of us are keen to forget. Three years later, Restless Lullabies sees the same set of songs reborn, and, in an effort to ensure that each are properly heard, they have been stripped of skin, flesh and - in some cases - their very bones, in his most exposed and intimate record to date.
Read MoreFrom his self-titled, triple platinum-selling debut album in 1987 to ‘Limitless’ in 2020, Richard Marx has had an unerring knack for a melody (not to mention a pretty wonderful voice). Marx's songwriting skills have enabled him to stay relevant throughout his nearly forty-year career. His sound has evolved over time, with the punchy guitars of the late 80s replaced by a smoother, more R&B/pop sound tailored to radio and streaming services. Along the way, his song craft has been in high demand, co-writing and/or contributing songs to a startling array of artists from Kenny Rogers to Keith Urban via NSYNC, Luther Vandross and Vixen. An impressive CV, but where does that chameleon-like ability to pen hit songs come from? How does he do it? Hopefully, ‘Songwriter’ might give us a bit of a clue as we take a journey through twenty tracks encompassing four genres; pop, rock, country and ballads.
Read MoreBack in 2015, Miriam Jones was treading the well-worn path of the folky singer/songwriter. Her Simon Edwards (Fairground Attraction) produced album ‘Between Green and Gone' was acoustic-based but recorded with a full band and received radio support from Bob Harris and Robert Elms. An impressive record, it looked like we would be seeing a lot of Miriam but the Canadian native slipped off the radar (well, my radar anyway) until recently when she reappeared with new music that showed a marked evolution in her sound.
Read MoreJack Broadbent’s 2019 album ‘Moonshine Blue’ was an impressive release that found the singer and guitarist dabbling in various genres. Jack wasn’t a slave to his reputation as an excellent slide guitarist and bluesman and seemed content to go wherever his muse took him to showcase his talents as a singer, songwriter or, as I put it, folky troubadour. For his latest release, at least at first glance, he’s seemingly sticking to the blues, but there are still plenty of twists and turns along the way on what might well turn out to be his best and most cohesive release yet.
Read MoreIf anything positive came out of the pandemic for musicians, it could have been that artists had to get inventive if they wanted to be heard. Anna Howie had spent time in Nashville pre-pandemic recording the ‘An Idiots Guide To Love’ EP with producer/guitarist Bob Britt (Leon Russell, Delbert McClinton and Bob Dylan) and attended a songwriting camp with Gretchen Peters. As with so many artists, Nashville had been inspirational, so a return was on the cards until it wasn’t. Undaunted, if a little apprehensive, Anna embraced the world of online streaming to connect with her audience and The Friday Night Club was born. The 28 online sessions would be a great success attracting almost two million views creating an online community almost by accident, offering Anna the freedom to try out new material before an appreciative virtual audience. Those Nashville plans might not have come to fruition, but Anna connected with producer and multi-instrumentalist Lukas Drinkwater (Jacob & Drinkwater, Emily Barker) and slowly but surely, over six months, pieced together ‘The Friday Night Club’ album at his Polyphonic Studio in Stroud, UK.
Read MoreFor many, John Illsley will always be the imposing figure standing next to Mark Knopfler as Dire Straits left the London pub circuit behind and achieved worldwide domination via their fifth album ‘Brothers In Arms'. The band almost singlehandedly convinced every household they needed a shiny little 5” silver disc to replace all those old and antiquated black slabs of 12" vinyl. Approximately 30 million of us did just that (which, in 2022, is pretty ironic considering the perceived cool factor of LPs these days). Alongside Mark Knopfler, John Illsley was the only other band member to do a full tour of duty with Dire Straits on their almost twenty-year run before the band slowly faded away in the early 1990s. John’s solo career actually began during his time in Dire Straits with the ‘Never Told A Soul’ LP in 1984. John has continued to release albums on a semi-regular basis, with VIII being, unsurprisingly, his eighth studio album.
Read MoreThe press release that accompanied ‘Popular Mechanics’ referenced Kenny Loggins, Tom Petty and Cyndi Lauper, all acts that have a home in my collection, so I was intrigued to hear what exactly Sam Outlaw had in mind on his new album. Listeners familiar with Outlaw and his impressive back catalogue might find the mention of Cyndi a tad incongruous as his previous records had received positive reviews for their take on the southern California country sound. As it turned out, I was pleased to find Outlaw might have taken a left turn, but he was far from lost.
Read MoreListening to Jack Francis is a bit like getting reacquainted with an old friend. The Southampton troubadour has a knack with a melody and a transatlantic approach reminiscent of 70s songwriters such as The Band, Paul Simon and Van Morrison. The route to his self-titled album might have been a long and circuitous one, but the resulting record is a triumph that should crack a smile on the most stone-faced individual.
Read MoreIn 2022 everybody and their dog is making a record which can be both a blessing and a curse (as the RGM inbox often reminds me). The upside to this situation is the myriad ways to discover new artists, which brings me to Noah Guthrie. Admittedly Noah Guthrie is hardly a new name, as watchers of reality TV talent shows will already be well aware (Guthrie reached the semi-final of America’s Got Talent in 2018) and even appeared in the final season of Glee. Neither of these events popped up on my radar, but late one night, lost down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos, I stumbled upon guitarist Rhett Shull preparing for a gig with a bloke named Noah Guthrie…
Read MoreThis is the time of year when I’m regularly called upon to make donations to the Scrooge Jar. Every time I say something even vaguely negative about the festive season (which I confess is quite often) I am swiftly rebuked by the rest of the family and duly relieved of a few more pennies. So, I am possibly not the best suited to reviewing a pair of Christmas-themed EPs, but these new releases from two of my favourite Canadian singer-songwriters have, I confess, begun to thaw my miserly, humbug-riddled heart.
Read MoreField Guide first came to our attention back in 2019 with the Full Time EP, a disarmingly delivered quartet of songs from the open heart of singer-songwriter Dylan MacDonald. We knew that if we kept our ears to the ground, it wouldn’t be long before the Canadian returned with a full-length album and, my, my, what a very lovely thing it is. Make Peace With That mixes lo-fi elements with a spotlessly detailed vocal and a warm, careful production. Tape hisses and floor creaks are all part of the charm and, with an average song length well below three minutes, it’s also got brevity on its side, which is always alright by me.
Read MoreA mere month before his 80th birthday David Crosby returns with a new record ‘For Free’ and continues a career renaissance that would have been, at the very least, unlikely just a few short years ago. The famed singer and songwriter is undoubtedly one of the greats. His role as a founding member of two of the seminal groups of the late 60s (The Byrds/Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) and his contribution and influence on what became known as the Laurel Canyon sound confirms Crosby’s status. Unfortunately, Crosby’s career has been dogged by personal tragedy, ill health, substance abuse and a seemingly unmatched ability to annoy the hell out of people, most notably his fellow band members. With the release of ‘Lighthouse’ in 2016 Crosby was back making great music in the studio and touring with like-minded musicians who understood Crosby’s musical legacy and were intent on adding to it. The genesis of this resurgence can be traced back to Crosby’s work in CPR a trio he formed with his son James Raymond and Jeff Pevar. It was Raymond who produced Crosby’s first solo album in twenty years (2014’s ‘Croz’) and now helms ‘For Free’.
Read MoreMichael McGovern’s debut album ‘Highfield Suite’ is a short but sweet introduction to the talents of the Glasgow singer/songwriter and guitarist who, at 25, seemingly has an old head on a pair of surprisingly young shoulders. Inspired at an early age by the usual suspects (Dylan, Cohen, Simon, Fleet Foxes) McGovern began writing songs while still in his teens and with the forced isolation of 2020, the time was right to embark on his debut record. McGovern commenced recording with one microphone in a small wooden cabin in Galway before enlisting Bill Shanley to co-produce. The pair subtly expanding McGovern’s intricate nylon-strung fingerpicked guitar sound into full band arrangements with the addition of a rhythm section, piano, an unexpected dash of saxophone, a smattering of pedal steel and some very pleasing vocal harmonies.
Read MoreJesse Terry is the kind of musician you could happily take home to meet your folks, safe in the knowledge that your imminent engagement would get their full endorsement. Your mother would ask, flushed, “is he too good to be true?” I don’t think there is anyone quite as clean-cut as Jesse Terry in the whole wide world of Americana. It’s just a pity for all you singletons that he is already married (to wife Jess – Jess, I know!) and has a young daughter. Unsurprisingly, then, family is at this record’s heart, as Jesse and Jess were raising their child on tour until being forced off the road by the pandemic. It’s the first time Terry has properly pulled over in a decade, having been a full-time troubadour with Jess by his side since 2010.
Read MoreAs concepts for albums go, faded Essex seaside towns might not be the most likely choice but singer-songwriter M G Boulter has carefully hewn a hugely affecting set of songs from the rocks of Clifftown, a pseudonym for his beloved Southend-on-Sea. For those new to the name, Boulter has been making solo records since 2013, having cut his teeth in various bands and he’s now signed to the independent label Hudson Records, alongside Karine Polwart, Bellowhead and Jenny Sturgeon. With a vocal that is as vulnerable as Neil Young but as English as Nick Drake, M G Boulter has concentrated the promise of his first two records into an extremely accomplished third that marries his poetic lyrics with intricate (but unshowy) guitar playing.
Read MoreI’m not entirely sure what it is about the best folk/roots music, but it seems to me to get it right you need experience. By experience, I don't just mean being able to play really well, as I consider that a given, it’s more about an appreciation for what has come before, and possibly the most important thing of all, is an experience of life in general. In the sleeve notes to ‘Poets’ Liz Simmons thanks her parents for the itinerant lifestyle of her early years travelling the length and breadth of America in a sky blue VW bus. From the wharfs of San Francisco to the pubs of Ketchum, Alaska before settling in New England Simmons’ early life was a whirlwind of travel and music; be it folk, rock n’ roll or the New Orleans influenced tunes her parents played nightly in the pub.
Read More2018’s ‘Everything Is Fine’ was one of that year's finest releases and marked Danny Kiranos aka Amigo The Devil as one to watch. ‘Everything Is Fine' is a terrific record full of dark imagery unhindered by genre stereotypes. It might not be quite everyone’s cup of tea but if you like a good murder ballad delivered by a heavily bearded man with a banjo then ‘Everything Is Fine’ could well become your go-to album. As it turned out the album only told half the story as the RGM team found on our last but one pre lockdown night out in February of 2020. The Amigo The Devil live experience is something else entirely, ‘Everything Is Fine’ is a fantastic record but put ATD on a stage and the results are very special. In forty years of gig-going, I’ve rarely seen an artist connect with an audience in the same way as ATD. The subject matter might often be jet black but ATD is not without humour and his followers appreciate the honesty within and can relate to his grasp of the daily problems we all face, and how we deal with those problems that have, in many cases, been exaggerated by the world around us in 2021.
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