Major Love - Self Titled (Album Review)

October 08, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Alternative Rock, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

Canadian singer-songwriter Colleen Brown first came to our attention here at RGM back in 2015 with the single ‘Soap & Denim’ which was followed by some low-key UK live dates. Brown was, by then, already a seasoned solo artist with a few albums under her belt but for us - here on this side of the water - it felt like the discovery of a new and rare talent. We’ve kept up with Brown ever since and now that she has a new full-length LP out (her first fronting five-piece Major Love) we feel the strong urge to let as many people as possible know about it.

Lucky Bones - Matchstick Men (Album Review)

May 17, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Pop, Rock, Singer-Songwriter

After a spell touring as a duo, Dublin-based Lucky Bones have returned to a full band sound for their third album Matchstick Men. Rocky and reflective in equal measure, the record doffs its hat to some musical heavyweights and doesn't pale in comparison. It also offers us a glimpse of songwriter Eamonn O’Connor’s gift for pitching downbeat emotion against a decidedly upbeat musical sensibility.

Glenn Frey - Above The Clouds: The Collection (Album/Box Set Review)

May 09, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Box Set, Country, Country Rock, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

When Glenn Frey passed away in 2016 he left a legacy of music of which any artist would be proud. Over the years his work as a solo artist and with the Eagles seems to have divided opinion, for every Eagles fan there seems to be hater just around the next corner, a situation I’ve always found very surprising. ‘Hotel California’ and ‘Their Greatest Hits 1971-75’ (the latter of which is the second bestselling album of all-time with 29,000,000 sales in the USA) are a fitting tribute to Frey and his talents. After forty years I’ll still happily spin 'Hotel California' and those early hits, which I consider to be solid gold classics, and I’m pleased to report the Library of Congress selected the hits album for preservation as "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" so I’m in pretty good company. The 3-CD + 1-DVD set ‘Above The Clouds’ finds us venturing far from those early country rock roots as Frey the solo artist seemed content to follow his muse wherever it took him, generally in a soft-rock / soul / R&B direction. The results, especially looking back in the cold light of day, are uneven but not without some genuinely standout tracks, all of which are presented with a professional sheen when maybe, on occasion, a little grit would have been welcome.

Bennett Wilson Poole - S.T. (Album Review)

March 29, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Classic Rock, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

This band’s moniker may make them sound like a municipal leisure centre but, thankfully, an unassuming supergroup is actually what lies behind the name. BWP are Robin Bennett, Danny George Wilson and Tony Poole. Many readers will know Danny Wilson from his time fronting Grand Drive and Danny & The Champions of the World and some will know Robin Bennett from his work with The Dreaming Spires but BWP’s secret weapon is veteran guitarist and producer Tony Poole. Poole was one half of Starry Eyed and Laughing who released two records in the mid-1970s earning a reputation as the ‘English Byrds’. If you pair Poole’s pedigree, and famed mastery of the 12-string Rickenbacker, with Wilson and Bennet’s background in contemporary harmony-driven Americana you’ll already have a decent idea of where the band are coming from.

Canadian Double Feature: Dom Fricot + Oh Geronimo (Album Reviews)

March 20, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews, Alternative Rock, Pop

The RGM inbox is visited daily by up-and-coming Canadian acts trying to spread the word about their new records here on this side of the water. We love nothing more than to hear all this fantastic new music but, unfortunately, we can’t possibly cover it all. However, two recent (and very different) releases that mustn’t pass without a mention have come in from Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Dom Fricot and the artful five-piece Oh Geronimo.

Althea Grace - Dreamers EP (Album Review)

January 15, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Blues, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

Chicago based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Althea Grace has packed plenty into her eighteen years. Althea played her first show with the highly respected; Grammy-winning Los Lobos aged eight, an association that continues to this day. More recently there was a debut solo album at fifteen and even more recently touring and recording with Gabe Burdulis in the duo Future Stuff. This would bring her to the attention of guitarist Doyle Bramhall II whose credits include Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and (for those of us with long memories) Arc Angels with Charlie Sexton and the Double Trouble rhythm section.

LeRiche - X-Dreamer EP (Album Review)

November 24, 2017 by David Vousden in Pop, Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic

Impossibly handsome Canadian singer songwriter LeRiche has somehow found his way to us here at RGM and we’re very glad he did, as his debut EP is a rather nice thing. He made an appearance at The Great Escape festival earlier in the year and now the seven-song X-Dreamer is out in the UK on Fierce Panda. The EP is a curious mix of acoustically driven songs, beats and pop-smoothness with flawless production values. Think (if you can) Kings of Convenience meets George Michael via Noah & The Whale.

Jasper Sloan Yip - Post Meridiem (Album Review)

October 26, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Singer-Songwriter, Pop, Folk

The first thing that strikes you is that name. Jasper Sloan Yip. Is the ‘Sloan’ included just to stop people confusing him with all the other Jasper Yips out there? If you rearrange the letters you can make J-Lo, A Sniper Spy, so perhaps this album contains all sorts of other loosely-encrypted conspiracy theories… Whatever the true story behind the unusual moniker, the thirty year-old singer songwriter has made quite the (metaphorical) name for himself in his native Canada, becoming a big hit on college radio after releasing his 2010 debut Every Day and All At Once. 2013’s follow-up Foxtrot spawned the Canadian top ten and award-winning hit ‘Show Your Teeth’ and now JSY (sorry, I just can’t keep typing it in full) has returned in 2017 with the more fully-formed and mature Post Meridiem, a record that should - if there is any justice - bring his talents some serious global attention.

Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs 20th Anniversary Edition (Album Review)

September 19, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

As a teenager in the 1990s, hunting for CDs to feed my music addiction was pretty much my sole concern in life. This was a time when new releases were still quite costly, so bargain bins and second-hand shops were usually where I went looking for treasure. Prohibitively expensive import CDs were a forbidden extravagance but once a year, on my birthday I allowed myself the purchase of just one deliciously overpriced disc. I would be recklessly impulsive, routinely choosing something I’d never heard before. In 1996, the year I turned 19, that disc was Shawn Colvin's A Few Small Repairs.

Ron Pope - Work (Album Review)

August 17, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Rock, Pop, Country, Singer-Songwriter

Recently the subject of the state of the music business has been the source of much debate in the RGM office...not that we have an actual office, more like a desk really but... The inspiration for much of this chat was a documentary film by Rain Perry ‘The Shopkeeper' reviewed here which explains just how difficult aspects of the business are in 2017. For another side of the modern music business let's take a look at Ron Pope on a one-man mission to demonstrate how to do things in 2017 while remaining fiercely independent.

Aimee Mann - Mental Illness (Album Review)

May 07, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Pop, Singer-Songwriter, Alternative, Acoustic

Mental Illness is the sort of provocative title a rapper might choose for a record but for Aimee Mann the name of her first album in five years is a tongue-in-cheek pre-emptive strike against the critics who've always labelled her output as depressing. She is, of course, guilty as charged but it's no apology - the title should be taken as a gentle warning: Mann mines the loneliness, anxieties and complicated human relationships that can so often be the cause of our mental malaise. The songs on this record aren't fairytales; they're personal, real and, more often than not, don't have a happy ending. It's this unflinching reflection of life's various disappointments that is part of Aimee Mann's appeal. Difficult, conflicting emotions aren't neatly reconciled; regrets don't disappear overnight and sometimes things just don't turn out as planned.

Colin Hay - Fierce Mercy (Album Review)

March 21, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

As the lead singer from Men at Work, Colin Hay was the man who famously rhymed ‘language’ with ‘Vegemite sandwich’ on the hit song ‘Down Under’, way back in 1983. If that seems an odd thing to remember then please forgive me, I was six years old at the time; rhymes were almost as important to me as sandwich fillings and this one I hadn’t even heard of. Working as a solo artist since 1987, Hay has released a steady stream of well-received records and Fierce Mercy will be his thirteenth of that thirty-year period. It’s therefore no surprise that themes of age, memory and the passing of time course through the album. But far from being maudlin, Fierce Mercy is joyful, philosophical and full of life-affirming hope.

Ray Wilson - Makes Me Think Of Home (Album Review)

October 06, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Pop, Progressive Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Rock

Makes Me Think Of Home’ is the second album of 2016 from singer-songwriter Ray Wilson following the acoustic ‘Song For A Friend’ release and for some artists they’d be stretching themselves a bit thin. This is not an issue for Ray Wilson as the inspiration well is far from dry and ‘Home’ is another fine addition to his solo discography that brings together multiple influences from the worlds of pop, rock and prog.

Ben Abraham - Sirens (Album Review)

June 16, 2016 by David Vousden in Singer-Songwriter, Pop, Folk, Album Reviews

Way back at the beginning of the year and my day started, as usual, with a trawl through my inbox when I discovered the link (cheers Jay) to a video entitled ‘You and Me’ by Australian singer-songwriter Ben Abraham. The video put together by the very clever people at Production Company Oh Yeah Wow is visually stunning, the set decoration / lighting in the final third really is a thing of beauty. The video perfectly complements the song and it really caught my attention. I had no clue who Ben Abraham was but I was keen to find out.

T'Pau - Bridge Of Spies Remastered Expanded Edition (Album Review)

November 18, 2015 by David Vousden in Pop, 80s, Album Reviews

From the outside looking in the T'Pau story seems to bear all the hallmarks of an overnight success story. The band formed in Shropshire in the UK in 1986 and by mid 1987 they were signed to a major label and recording their debut album with legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars, Journey). Despite the power of a major label and an A-list producer twiddling the knobs initially things were a little slow as ‘Heart and Soul’ failed to chart in the UK. The fortunes of the band would change when the single was featured in an ad for Pepe jeans resulting in a huge hit in the USA. A UK re-release would provide the band with their first hit before ‘China in Your Hand’ would spend five weeks at the top of the UK charts. Oddly the success of ‘China’ was not repeated to the same level in America despite it seemingly having all the prerequisite power ballad credentials to be massive.

Jack Tempchin - Learning To Dance (Album Review)

August 27, 2015 by David Vousden in Singer-Songwriter, Country, Pop

Veteran singer-songwriter Jack Tempchin will forever be linked to Eagles and his composition ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’ which was instrumental in launching the early 70’s country rock movement into the mainstream. Tempchin continued to work with Eagles over the years on such classic tunes as ‘Already Gone’ and enjoyed continued success in collaboration with Glenn Frey when Frey embarked on his successful solo career. Tempchin has continued to work with Eagles and has credits on 'Hell Freezes Over' and 'Long Road Out Of Eden'.

All Day Sucker - Denim Days (Album Review)

June 04, 2015 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

As I type it’s a pretty typical day here in the UK. In other words it’s dark, dank and raining but luckily I have the All Day Sucker CD to brighten my mood and transport me to sunny California. This is a very fine record, a near perfect mix of classic pop, soul and funk with harmonies that would grace a Jellyfish or Beach Boys album.

David Bronson - Questions (Album Review)

January 21, 2015 by David Vousden in Singer-Songwriter, Pop, Soul

If you were David Bronson and had poured a decade of your life into the release of an album ‘The Long Lost Story’ then a step back, and a good think on what you might like to do next, might be required. This time out Bronson wanted a more soulful approach and with the classic David Bowie album ‘Young Americans’ forming a musical inspiration hooked up with famed producer Godfrey Diamond (Lou Reed), a man with one hell of an address book, and the result is ‘Questions’ an album that embraces his 70’s singer-songwriter influences and takes them to a place inhabited by the soulful rock of Joe Cocker, Van Morrison and, of course, the aforementioned ‘Young Americans’.

Andrew Combs- All These Dreams (Album Review)

January 16, 2015 by Rich Barnard in Country, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

When you hear the pure pop bliss of ‘Foolin’, the first single from All These Dreams, the vocal tics of Roy Orbison and the production tricks of Phil Spector are probably the first things that come to mind. Once you’ve stopped hitting repeat on that track and take in the whole album it’s clear that Andrew Combs in fact belongs to a much more contemporary, if rare, breed of singer-songwriter. He shares his careful songcraft with the likes of David Mead, Justin Rutledge and Joe Firstman; artists whose pursuit of the perfect song seems so immersive that none of the fashion and trends of the last forty years can ever be the slightest bit relevant.

Michelle Lewis - The Parts Of Us That Still Remain (Album Review)

November 24, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Pop, Country, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

If may have taken a decade for Michelle Lewis to release her second full length album but some things are worth waiting for and ‘The Parts Of Us That Still Remain’ which was self-released earlier this year in the USA will finally see the light of day in Europe on December 1st, 2014. The album was recorded in North Chelmsford, MA and at the Paramount Recording Studios in Los Angeles owned by her long-time collaborator Anthony J. Resta who co-produced the album with Lewis.