Walker McGuire - S.T. EP (Album Review)

January 11, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Country

Back in October, I was lucky enough to be invited along to the first night of Country Music Week at Bush Hall in London. The act who had the unenviable task of opening proceedings, in the wake of the Las Vegas atrocity the previous day, were Nashville based duo Jordan Walker and Johnny McGuire collectively known as Walker McGuire. The pair got the evening off to a superb start with a bunch of cool harmony-driven songs laced with charm and humour, while still respecting the fallen. A few months on and the boys are about to release their first EP and the results are impressive.

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.

Satin - It's About Time (Album Review)

November 22, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

Every melodic rock fan with half a brain knows that there is no such thing as the perfect AOR album. From the late ‘70s through to the early ‘90s we were awash with perfect moments but, for the past two and a half decades, bands have matched the gems of that period with only very limited success. These days, making records is cheaper and faster; sonically sub-standard AOR albums arrive at an alarming rate and are all accompanied by unhelpful amounts of hype, so it’s no wonder that fans have become cynical about new releases. How refreshing it is, then, to come across an artist whose press makes no claim whatsoever and who has made an album that doesn’t sound as if it was cobbled together in a hurry. One-man freaky genius (he plays, sings, produces and mixes everything) Tom Satin quietly released his debut in 2014 and now the follow-up, It’s About Time, has arrived seemingly out of thin air. While it’s not perfect, I’d say it’s about as close as anyone has got in a very long time.

Josh Taerk - Stages EP (Album Review)

November 16, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Country, Country Rock, Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter

Toronto native Josh Taerk (pronounced Turk) is a new name to me but, with heavy-hitting support on his bio from E-Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and John Oates of Hall & Oates fame, my guess was his new ‘Stages’ EP would be well worth checking out. I’m pleased to report this assumption would prove to be correct as ‘Stages’ is a little gem.

The Wailin' Jennys - Fifteen (Album Review)

November 09, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Folk, Country, Bluegrass

The covers album is a tricky old beast and one that few acts manage to fully tame. It’s an endeavour that can easily expose a lack of direction, an absence of fresh ideas or worse still, an ill-judged excursion into self-indulgence. It’s no small miracle, then, that female-vocal-bluegrass darlings The Wailin’ Jennys have made such a coherent success of Fifteen, their first album since 2011’s highly acclaimed Bright Morning Stars.

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.

Bob Bradshaw - American Echoes (Album Review)

October 19, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

I have recently taken up photography as a hobby, not digital, but on film. I am shunning “Auto” and taking time to compose each shot, being choosy about what I take, as the roll is not infinite. As such, each shot becomes treasured, even if it does not come out as expected. Bob Bradshaw’s new album, ‘American Echoes’, has the feeling of a treasured photo album crammed with fond memories and experiences. Indeed, Bradshaw started his journey in America, which has led to the content of ‘American Echoes’, way back in 1989. It is a product of the people, places and venues he has visited and the experiences he has had in his adopted homeland. It draws on classic American genres ranging from country and folk to bluegrass and the blues. The album is a celebration and a document of the dreamers, poets and sinners that he has met on his journey across the nation’s landscape.

The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer - Apocalipstick (Album Review)

October 17, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Alternative, Americana, Blues

Inventively named Canadian act The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer recently visited the UK to play a few shows. The name instantly gets your attention “The who’d a what now” was one version of the name I heard recently. It actually all makes perfect sense as Shawn Hall aka The Harpoonist plays harmonica (actually lots of harmonicas) and Matthew Rogers plays guitar hence The Axe Murderer. The guys were in London to support their latest release ‘Apocalipstick’ and played one of the most inventive and crowd-pleasing shows I’ve seen in quite some time. The duo, with Dawn Pemberton adding some impressively soulful vocals, really is a force of nature in a live setting. Explaining what they do doesn’t seem to do them any justice but I’ll give it a try.

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.

Paul Brady - Unfinished Business (Album Review)

September 07, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Paul Brady celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this year and has been making albums and stealing hearts with an onstage twinkle in his eye for more than five decades. His significant achievements are little known (especially outside of Ireland) making him an almost secret national treasure and speaking volumes about the man’s modesty. Given the changes in the music industry during the seven-year gap between this release and 2010’s acclaimed Hooba Dooba, Brady admits wondering - for a time - if there was even any point in putting out a new record but his fans will no doubt be glad he did. The album has evolved at its own pace over the past four years with Brady handling almost all the instruments himself, as well as engineering the record at his own studio in Dublin. This gives Unfinished Business a cosy, boxy feel but cements the idea that Paul Brady is unassuming, humble and grounded, despite being one of the most important folk-rock artists of his generation.

Martin Simpson - Trails & Tribulations (Album Review)

August 31, 2017 by Jon Amer in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Folk, Blues

Martin Simpson, a master of acoustic blues, releases his 20th solo album in 40 years. ‘Trails & Tribulations’ arrives in the wake of a triumphant headline set at the Cambridge Folk Festival and in heated anticipation of his appearance at London’s Kings Place in support of the album launch. The album follows ‘Vagrant Stanzas’ which was warmly received by critics in 2013 and the collaborative ‘Murmurs’ from 2015 which saw Simpson join forces with Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr to dramatic effect - performances noted for their sense of “majestic, intuitive and joyful playing”.

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.

Rain Perry - The Shopkeeper (Film Review)

August 08, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Film Review, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Anyone who’s ever financed the recording of their own album will know that there are certain things that really ought to matter, and The Shopkeeper is a stark reminder of those things. People matter. Can you think of an app that can replicate the relationships between songwriter, musician, producer and engineer? Thought not. Places matter. Can you imagine The Beatles without Abbey Road? Nope, neither can I. Things matter. If you’re making an album, why wouldn’t you want to make it into a something you can hold in your hands? Musicians today find themselves in a world where people, places and things appear to all matter a little less than they once did and The Shopkeeper pushes us, ever so gently, to consider the consequences.

Carrie Elkin - The Penny Collector (Album Review)

July 13, 2017 by Jon Amer in Album Reviews, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Carrie Elkin has a fascinating voice. Earnest, yet powerful, with a sense of longing to her vocal and a purity which adds gravity to her emotive lyrics. Legendary Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris has compared her spellbinding performance to Patty Griffin, Iris DeMent, and Nanci Griffith, no less. Her vocal style shares similarities with Sheryl Crow, Carole King, Karen Carpenter, Joan Armatrading and Marie Fredriksson of Roxette. There is also elements of First Aid Kit to be found here - albeit solo voice with male harmonies. Carrie’s debut album “Simplicity” was released in 1996 and she has never looked back. She received glowing reviews for her 2007 LP, “Jeopardy of Circumstance” and toured the UK and the US as well as recording on her partner, Danny Schmidt’s, albums. “Call It My Garden”, recorded for award winning folk label Red House Records in 2011, gained widespread acclaim and “For Keeps” followed in 2014. “Penny Collector” is a collection of songs which inhabits the musical realm of Americana/Roots, Folk and Indie Rock. It is her sixth solo album and arrives in the wake of much critical praise and admiration for her previous recordings.

Riverdogs - California (Album Review)

July 06, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

Melodic hard rock has had its time. There’s no denying that it still lives and, to some degree, thrives but its glory days are long, long gone. Its current state isn’t helped by fast-buck-making labels and a certain sort of purist fan that simply won’t allow any of these artists to move away from a hackneyed, formulaic sound. So, new releases from bands that have been plying their trade for thirty years more often fill me with a sense of sorrow than a sense of joy. Not so with the latest Riverdogs album, California. This is a record that might just be too good for the classic rock fraternity to properly deserve.

Ani DiFranco - Binary (Album Review)

June 08, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Free of major-label interference for her entire twenty-seven-year career, Ani Difranco is one of the most revered independent artists on the planet. After all, she pretty much invented the idea of subverting the music industry’s normal route to success, inspiring countless other coffee house singer-songwriters to follow her DIY example and to never, ever, ever sell out. Her fierce independence is part of her appeal, along with her sharp lyrical wit and flair for balancing the political with the personal in her prolific output of spikey guitar-driven songs. She may not be the ball of unstoppable feisty energy that she used to be but Binary sees her unafraid as ever to tell it like it is and stick it to the man.

Little Steven - Soulfire (Album Review)

June 06, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Blues, Soul

Steven Van Zandt aka Little Steven aka Miami Steve recently apologised for the gap of nearly twenty years since his last solo release. To be honest this refreshing approach is welcome, but unnecessary, as Steve had hardly been spending his days sipping cocktails, while counting his money, on some far flung beach. In the intervening years Van Zandt has successfully worked as an actor, first catching the attention of the masses in The Sopranos and followed that with the fish-out-of-water gangster tale Lilyhammer. He also found time to turn his hand to radio as a DJ / program director (Underground Garage / Outlaw Country) and launch his own record label (Wicked Cool Records). Then there is the little matter of his day job with the E Street Band. Does this man ever sleep?

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.

Bill Kirchen & Austin De Lone - Transatlanticana (Album Review)

March 23, 2017 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Country Rock

If ever an album lived up to its title it must be ‘Transatlanticana’ which finds the “Titan of the Telecaster” Bill Kirchen recording an album with the “Godfather of Pub Rock” Austin De Lone. Needless to say the results are pretty amazing and the UK release via The Last Music Company / Proper Records features two bonus tracks.

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.