Rachel Sermanni - So It Turns (Album Review)

August 19, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Rachel Sermanni’s third LP sees the Scottish singer-songwriter largely turning away from the dirty guitars that peppered 2015’s Tied To The Moon for a smoother, more grown-up outing, shifting the focus onto her arresting, intimate voice. So It Turns, the record Sermanni herself calls ‘folk-noir’ (it lives up to the label) was produced by Axel Reinemer and has been in the can for three years. Good things come to those who wait of course and, thankfully, So It Turns is now seeing the light of day via an independent release.

Unruly Child - Big Blue World (Album Review)

August 05, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock, Progressive Rock

Since reassembling their original five-piece line-up nearly ten years ago, Unruly Child have given us three top-notch slices of gently progressive AOR in the vein of their classic 1992 debut. Worlds Collide (2010) and Can’t Go Home (2017) were both put out by Frontiers while 2014’s Down The Rabbit Hole was independently released but all three albums showed a band that still has plenty to offer. Now, in their 27th year, the band return with Big Blue World. Marcie Free’s indestructible, made-for-rock voice has lost nothing and it’s this voice - along with Guy Allison’s upfront keys and Bruce Gowdy’s ability to fuse acoustic and electric guitar textures - that make Unruly Child so unmistakable.

Morganway - Morganway (Album Review)

July 31, 2019 by David Vousden in Americana, Album Reviews, Classic Rock

Morganway first came to my attention earlier this year when they unexpectedly appeared in the RGM inbox. The track in question was ‘Frozen In Our Time’ and my classic rock taste buds were instantly sated as Morganway presented a sound that owed a debt to the likes of Dire Straits (musically) and Fleetwood Mac (vocally) while the addition of fiddle delivered a folky musical curveball. This early positive impression would be further enhanced by subsequent singles and cemented by a really terrific live show at Black Deer Festival. I had a feeling that Morganway might be on to something a little bit special, and I’m pleased to report their debut album doesn’t disappoint.

Karine Polwart's Scottish Songbook (Album Review)

July 29, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

You probably never noticed, but a lot of the pop music you grew up on was born in Scotland. You can’t have been raised in the 80s without escaping Simple Minds; in the 90s without strumming along to Del Amitri, or in the noughties without tapping your toes to KT Tunstall. And now, multi-award-winning folk singer-songwriter Karine Polwart has drawn on these decades, among others, to bring you her latest release: Scottish Songbook. This celebration of the history of Scot-pop began when Karine gathered two dozen songs together for a live show she took to the 2018 Edinburgh Festival. A year on, eleven of those songs coalesce on an album that is reverent, revealing and - above all - rewarding.

Leroy From The North - Health and Fitness EP (Album Review)

July 26, 2019 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Classic Rock, Country Rock, Singer-Songwriter

Leroy from the North is the debut solo offering from Eli Wulfmeier a singer/guitarist from Los Angeles by way of Michigan. If the name sounds familiar it’s hardly surprising as Eli spent three years as a member of The Wild Feathers; whose 2013, John ‘Jay’ Joyce produced, debut is a cool slab of Eagles/Jayhawks influenced country rock. Eli’s other credits include playing with Katy Rose, Shelby Lynne and Joe Purdy amongst others and he is also a member of female-fronted hard rockers Dorothy. Eli brings all of these influences along for the ride on the five tracks that comprise his ‘Health and Fitness EP.

Espanola - Espanola (Album Review)

July 15, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Rock, Singer-Songwriter

Listening to the new self-titled album from Espanola is a bit like pulling on a pair of boots that you’ve worn every day for the last twenty years. This is music so comforting and worn-in; so natural and loose that, despite being released in 2019, stirs feelings of nostalgia and warmth normally reserved for those precious pieces of vinyl you’ve owned forever. As I listen I am forced to ask myself: “is this really happening?” and, as the vintage classics pour forth, I occasionally slap myself to check it isn’t a dream. It transpires I am fully awake and that this could be the realest thing I’ve heard in decades.

Squares - Squares (Album Review)

July 09, 2019 by David Vousden in 80s, Album Reviews, New Wave, Power Pop

When Joe Satriani announced he’d be releasing a set of demos from the early 80s the natural assumption was that we’d be getting embryonic versions of tracks from albums such as ‘Not of this Earth’ or ‘Surfing with the Alien’. Truth be told - and as cool as that might have been - ‘Squares’ is actually more interesting. Many artists shun their earliest musical endeavours, happy to lock them away in a vault somewhere and seemingly have no recollection of their earliest attempts at rock stardom. Joe obviously has a soft spot for those early days, which is hardly surprising as some of the people involved in Squares still play a big part in the Joe Satriani story in 2019

The Iveys - Colors Of Honey (Album Review)

June 07, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Americana, Folk

The Iveys are a bona fide family band, comprising two sisters, two brothers and one brother-in-law. The current five-piece lineup has built from the initial sibling duo of Arlen Ivey and Jessica Ivey Carr and Colors Of Honey, their new six-track release, will serve as their calling card as they embark on a very busy tour of their native Texas in June.

Mavis Staples - We Get By (Album Review)

May 23, 2019 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Soul

If ever there was an artist that could rest on her laurels it’s Mavis Staples. Honestly, reading Mavis’ bio is effectively an American history lesson; Mavis marched with Martin Luther King, Jr, performed for JFK at his inauguration and more recently for Barack Obama at the White House. Her solo career has included releases on Stax, Curtis Mayfield’s Custom label and two albums on Paisley Park in collaboration with Prince. She sang on The Last Waltz with The Band and nearly married Bob Dylan, while recordings with Arcade Fire and Gorillaz highlight her relevance to younger audiences. In fact, it’s her more recent work on a trio of albums with producer Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) via the Anti- label in the last decade that has bought Staples back into the spotlight. The nearest comparison I can make of an artist releasing such a run of impressive records at this late stage of their career - albums completely sympathetic to their legacy and character - would be Rick Rubin’s American recordings with Johnny Cash.

Glen Hansard - This Wild Willing (Album Review)

April 10, 2019 by Rich Barnard in 80s, Album Reviews, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

After three lauded solo records and countless packed-out shows across the globe, Glen Hansard has amassed laurels aplenty upon which to rest if he were that way inclined. Thankfully, it would appear he is not, as This Wild Willing represents a decisive step forward in the post-Once career of the onetime Frames frontman as he eases off on the Van Morrisonisms he’s become synonymous with and begins re-engaging with the boundary-pushing of his earlier work.

Animal Drive - Back To The Roots EP (Album Review)

April 09, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Melodic Rock

I’ve had an extended break from reviewing hard rock, although as a genre it remains my first love. There is a cynicism that comes with age and I simply struggle to get excited about most new releases. I find myself shaking my head (like the old man I am) and coming to the predictable but inevitable conclusion that they just don’t make rock records like they used to. I suspect that a similar sentiment was the starting point for Animal Drive’s new covers EP Back to the Roots.

Field Guide - Full Time EP (Album Review)

April 08, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Singer-Songwriter

One of the most welcome surprises to land in the RGM inbox this week is the new self-produced EP from Field Guide. Hailing from Manitoba, Canada, Field Guide is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Dylan MacDonald and Full Time is a beautifully hushed quartet of thoughtfully written, warmly delivered songs of heartbreak, loss and leaving. Artists trading in confessional acoustic intimacy are pretty easy to come by but what sets Field Guide apart from the crowd is the lyrical quality and the careful, understated execution in what they do. Rather than wallowing in regret, the songs take a more philosophical path, which oddly makes this record feel more like a pick-me-up than a drag-me-down. The songs are sad but matter-of-fact; sober but wry.

JD Simo - Off At 11 (Album Review)

March 19, 2019 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Blues, Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter

Nashville-based singer and guitarist JD Simo is currently touring the UK (March 2019) with guitar great Tommy Emmanuel CGP so his credentials as a guitarist will not be in question. I’d incorrectly assumed that JD was a straight-ahead bluesman; an assumption blown out of the water by ‘Off At 11’. The blues play a major part in JD’s sound but jazz fans and psychedelic rockers will find much to enjoy as JD and his terrific band; Adam Abrashoff (drums) and bass player Luke Easterling play up a storm on a freewheeling set that owes as big a debt to Miles Davis and The Grateful Dead as it does the Lightnin’ Hopkins and BB King.

David Ian Roberts - Travelling Bright (Album Review)

March 14, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

It’s not often we come across a record as carefully crafted as Travelling Bright, the second full-length release from Welshman David Ian Roberts. It is an album in the truest sense - a journey - an immersive and hypnotic journey into a glittering world of acoustic delights. Travelling Bright is designed to be taken in at one sitting and is therefore fittingly available as a double LP, and if you’ve an hour to spare, not only could it take you places, it could also help you fall back in love with the forgotten act of sitting still and listening to some nice vinyl.

Cats In Space - Daytrip To Narnia (Album Review)

March 03, 2019 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

The Cats In Space story is one of perseverance, refusing to give up in the face of adversity and sticking with what you know. The members of Cats In Space have been around, they’ve done the hard yards, put in the miles and it’s refreshing to see the acclaim that has been heaped on the band since they released their debut album ‘Too Many Gods’ in 2015. For their third studio album, the guys are refusing to rest on their laurels and seem intent on pushing the envelope. The result is ‘Daytrip To Narnia’ a record that should please longstanding Cats fans but might also leave a few scratching their heads.

Fiat Lux - Saved Symmetry (Album Review)

March 01, 2019 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Pop, 80s

If they’d had a crystal ball would Steve Wright and David P. Crickmore - who formed Fiat Lux in the early 80s - have still embarked on a musical journey that would see the duo finally release their debut full-length album in 2019? I get the feeling they would as ‘Saved Symmetry’ has the feel and sound of an album that encompasses everything the duo were trying to achieve back in the day. The Latin phrase Fiat Lux translates as Let There Be Light, with light as a metaphor for wisdom. This seems fitting as ‘Saved Symmetry’ finally sees the light of day and I’m pretty sure Steve and David have learnt a few things along the way.

Haint Blue - Overgrown (Album Review)

February 15, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Singer-Songwriter

If you like your Americana to pack a serious punch then step into the ring and go a few rounds with Haint Blue. The Baltimore-based seven-piece, headed by vocalist Mike Cohn, have just released Overgrown, an epic storybook LP that has been ten years in the making. The songs are woven from Cohn’s time spent in the grip of a rigid fundamentalist faith, with which he ultimately cut ties. The songs deal in turn with the wrench of this emancipation; the loss of faith and friendship and the struggle with depression and addiction. Told you it was heavyweight.

The Flesh Eaters - I Used To Be Pretty (Album Review)

February 11, 2019 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Alternative Rock, Rock, Punk

One of the great things about RGM is that on occasion something will turn up that’ll drag you kicking and screaming outside your musical comfort zone. Nothing has reinforced this theory more in recent times than the unexpected arrival of the latest CD by The Flesh Eaters. A band that the press release readily admits to being one of Los Angeles most admired but little-heard bands. I’m pretty sure that situation is about to change as The Flesh Eaters are definitely deserving of that widely admired tag but I’m also sure more people will sit up and take notice as ‘I Used To Be Pretty’ kicks…

Don Brownrigg - Fireworks (Album Review)

February 06, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Singer-Songwriter

Canadian singer-songwriter Don Brownrigg came to our attention last year with his single ‘Room For Me’; three and a half minutes of what is best described as world-feariness, employing nothing more than a delicately-picked guitar, baritone vocal and gossamer-light strings. Its closing line of “I’m not sure, I’m not sure, I’m not sure I’m not crazy” captures a vulnerability that instantly made us want to know more of the story.

Only Yours - Overrun (Album Review)

February 01, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

Ever feel like bands peddling soaring, epic pop just pass you by like buses in a big city? You hop on, you hop off and you don’t give much thought to where they’re going next. Well, Only Yours is one bus that you should definitely be catching. In fact, if you can bear to keep running alongside the clumsy public transport metaphor, Overrun is a record you simply must not miss.