Michael McGovern - Highfield Suite (Album Review)

July 13, 2021 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Michael 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.

Amigo The Devil - Everything Is Fine (Album Review)

October 26, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Folk, Heavy Metal, Singer-Songwriter

Danny Kiranos aka Amigo The Devil arrives on the scene with ‘Everything Is Fine’ and the one thing I can tell with absolute certainty is that things most definitely are not fine. In fact, we’re as far from fine as it’s possible to get. “This life is a joke and death is the punch line” gives you a good idea of Kiranos’ state of mind as Amigo The Devil. So join me, if you’d like to partake in an hour or so of Southern gothic murder folk country, with an occasional hard rock/metal left turn, because you never know things might turn out fine in the end, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Torgeir Waldemar - Jamais Vu (Album Review)

April 03, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Folk

Norwegian singer-songwriter-guitarist Torgeir Waldemar will be no stranger to regular readers of RGM as we reviewed his second album ‘No Offending Borders’ back in 2017. An album of sprawling classic rock with more than a passing nod to Neil Young & Crazy Horse ‘No Offending Borders’ was a quality record (if you’ve not heard it I urge you to seek it out). The record exhibited an, often meandering, rough-around-the-edges 70’s rock approach that was in stark contrast to his debut release, which owed more to the California infused sounds of the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters of the early 70’s. Bearing this in mind, it should come as no surprise that for his latest release Waldemar has taken a good look at both albums and made a few changes. The more stripped back folky sounds of the debut album have been seriously electrified while ‘No Borders’ material is now laid bare.