Andrew Bird, Weather Systems (Righteous Babe/Fargo)
Weather Systems has already been voted Americana Album Of The Month in one respected journal, so how do I top
that? Well, only to concur. But calling Weather Systems Americana is too
easy; this is too good to be bracketed among the hee-haw footstompers and
big-hats that churn out the same easy listening year in year out. No, Andrew
Bird is better than that; imagine someone with the integrity and ingenuity
of Peter Gabriel going down this dusty road. OK, Americana is what it says
on the signpost, but we're a long way from the Ol' Opry. Weather Systems is at times an uncomfortable melange of many musical styles; a queasy marriage
of folk and rock and country and indie. Second track, "I", weaves about like a
drunken fiddle-player while fifth track, "5", is almost ambient, though lovely
with it. The violin, of course, is Bird's instrument, and he plays it like a
guitar, plucking and caressing the strings to a quiet create dissonance and
discordant, alongside conventional drums, bass etc. Standout tracks are the
almost nursery rhyme-like ballad "Sovay" and the title track, which begins with a Pagannin violin solo before giving way to Bird's high,
sweet voice. On Weather Systems, Andrew Bird is setting new boundaries,
breaking rules until his music coalesces into something stark and original
and quite beguiling.
Jim Byrnes, Fresh Horses (Black Hen)
For every boy band that flares briefly
into the night sky then dies equally quickly, there are guys like Jim Byrnes
out there, peddling their craft, making music that has more integrity, soul,
meaning and passion than anything a shipload of Westlifes could muster in
half a minute. And, sad to say, bands like Westlife get the fame and the
money for pumping out tons of pap while guys like Byrnes press on, earning
plaudits but usually not great amounts of money. And that's a darn shame,
because the world needs albums like Fresh Horses - if only to remind us that there is room for blues in the great popular music encyclopaedia. Fresh
Horses, recorded live - and it shows, in the spacious, closed-mike
production - is 12 tracks of smouldering, heartfelt, immaculate blues-soul,
mainly written or co-written by Jim, excepting Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's
Blues" and "For The Turnstyles" by Neil Young. Byrnes, who handles lead vocals
- sounding like Beefheart, Waits and any other grizzled baritone America has
thrown up over the past coupla decades - and guitar, has been in the
business since the age of five, when he learned the piano while growing up
in St Louis, Missouri. A musical education that has included him playing
with the likes of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins and Robert
Cray, has given him the history - and the chops - to do his thing. Fresh
Horses takes all those influences and adds Byrnes' own identity, of a
grey-beard, grizzled bluesman who has got a lot to say.
Caramel Jack, Songs From Low Story (World Of Furr)
This lot are from Brighton, England, but you wouldn't believe it, listening to Joe Doveton's world weary vocals. Caramel Jack align themselves loosely to the Americana side of
rock but aren't afraid to take things a step further by utilising elements
of Vaudeville, electronica and straight pop. Throw in the odd cello, flute,
sample, charango and trombone and what you get is an intriguing mix that
manages to satisfy on many levels. For those readers with (ahem) longer
memories, what acts as the clincher is pedal steel legend BJ Cole, who
weaves his magic on two tracks - "My Secret Side" and "Living And Dead Singers."
Delving deeper into Songs From Low Story you realise that, like fellow
British band Grand Drive - who have produced three wonderful 'Americana'
albums in recent years - Caramel Jack have taken roots(ish) music from the
yanks, added their own twist and produced something that stands comparison
with anything done on the other side of the pond. The title track along,
with is brass interlude and slide guitar, is a wonderfully atmospheric
creation that should, if there is any justice in the world, be snapped up by
a TV documentary maker and used as a soundtrack. Then the lads might get a
decent payday, which is what they deserve.
John Cunningham, Happy-go-Unlucky (Parasol Records)
I sat up when I first played this CD. Had I suddenly stumbled upon a missing Paul McCartney album?
Was this something Macca had brought out before his first, eponymous album?
I listened with barely-contained glee as song after song unfurled; this is a
McCartney/Beatles heaven. Each song is a polished gem and, after a while,
you start to forget the Beatles references (there's a bit of Lennon in
there, too) and marvel at the sheer melodic genius of this guy. Apparently,
this is his fourth album and I wish I'd heard him before. Happy-go-Unlucky
has everything: notwithstanding the McCartney bias, Cunningham has a fine
ear for a great tune and builds the songs with layers of piano, harmonies,
brass etc. Happy-go-Unlucky is the sort of album the Beatles might have
produced if they had put their differences behind them and gone back to
basics. Forget Let It Be - Happy-go-Unlucky sits quite nicely as the obvious
follow-up to Abbey Road. This is beautiful, spirited, lovely and utterly
delightful stuff. Do grab a copy and make an old Beatles fan very happy.
Maggie Holland, Circle Of Light (Irregular)
Circle Of Light is the fifth
album from Maggie, in which she performs 15 songs that cement her position
as one of the country's foremost interpreters of modern folk music.
Throughout, Maggie's Hampshire accent is in evidence; often multi-tracked.
The songs - from the likes of Billy Bragg, Al Stewart and Bob Dylan -
showcase Maggie's ability to turn her hand, or rather voice, to the demands
of a different writer. Discreet instrumentation from Malcolm Ross on slide
and lap-steel, Wendy Weatherby (cello), Lester Simpson and Carol Laula
bolster Maggie's voice which often carries the song on its own. On Circle Of
Light Maggie has selected songs from different genres but manages to
maintain her own individuality. Fans of Maggie's work will welcome this new
album; anyone interested in hearing a pure English voice will not be
disappointed.
Rich Hopkins And Luminaroos, Ka-Ju-Tah Blue Rose)
"Red, White & Blue" kicks off Ka-Ju-Tah, and is a rollicking blue collar piece of classic rock
that pushes the right buttons. With a naggingly insistent lead
guitar/chorus, you know you're in Springsteen/Earle territory with Hopkins
railing against the so-called ultra-patriotism of Bush's America. While
there is always going to be plenty of this kind of stuff doing the rounds,
Hopkins has mastered the art of the angry American armed with a Fender and
firing off shards of vitriol against all that is wrong with his country.
Generally it's steadily predictable, but in a way that makes you want to
continue listening. Hopkins, a former member of the Sand Rubies and the
Sidewinders, and started the Luminaroos as a side project. Now it's taken
over his life, with Ka-Ju-Tah being the third Luminaroos album since 1994.
So Rich has had plenty of time to get it right and, indeed, this alum does
contain plenty of good stuff - a heady amalgamation of rock and blues and
country. Hopkins used guitar, keys, drums, bass etc - and the sound of a
rooster on La Reina de la Calle. Oh, and why Ka-Ju-Tah? It's all to do with native
Americans, dreams, visions and such. A very American thing, obviously.
John Guilt, The Mirrors And Uncle Sam (Munich Records)
You can tell this is
something special from the opening chords of first track, "Absence Makes The
Heart Bleed." Sparse, strummed electro-acoustic guitar, crashing cymbals and
saxophone combine to create a spectral kind of music that has one foot in a
tumbleweed-strewn desert and the other at the cutting edge of modernity. The
pace is tombstone slow in places, and the instrumentation positively
elemental, but each if the 12 songs build up a head of steam to prove
irresistible and quite melodic. I remember an old recording industry maxim:
put the best track on first to hook in the viewer. John Guilt haven't done
anything quiet so cynical; instead they have let the quality of the songs
entice. Upon repeated listening, what initially appears to be difficult
stuff actually isn't. Indeed, red/white/blue has a swelling majesty worthy
of other, more well-known bands. The Mirrors And Uncle Sam is a ghost made
flesh and blood; with main man Andy Goldman on vocals, guitars and keyboards
synthesising jazz, folk, country and rock into an appetising stew. I can't
wait for their follow-up; I suspect there may be a little more flesh on them
bones and John Guilt will have recorded a corker. There is vast potential
here. As we once said, things can only get better.
Quiet Loner, Secret Ruler of The Word (Circus65)
Melancholy, elegant,
exquisite...Quiet Loner have produced the perfect antidote to a life spent
racing and chasing. This is an album that deserves to take pride of place in
anyone's Best Of lists at the end of the year, it simply is that good. From
the sweet-as-honey pedal steel of the opening track, "Henri," to the classic
country drama of closing number, "Complex Messiah," Secret Ruler of The Word
is a real find, a treat for lovers of carefully-executed Anglophile
Americana that wears its heart on its sleeve. Quiet Loner (the group) is the
brainchild of singer-songwriter Matt Hill, who released a series of EPs
three years ago and secured support slots with the likes of Lambchop, John
Rouse, Chris Mills, Richard Buckner and Neal Casals. So you can see that
he's been in good company. And it shows, in the quality of the playing and
the depth of his writing. Hill's acutely-observed lyrics have a sharp,
refreshing honesty but are shot through with an optimism that sets him apart
form his contemporaries. Musically, Quiet Loner can boast the talents of
pedal steel player Alan Cook, who has worked with The Good Sons, and twins
Mike and Dave Harries, the Hired Gun rhythm section. Standout track for me
is "God Knows I'm Leaving," a beautiful tale of drunken loss and hopelessness
that features Kirsty McGee on flute and backing vocals. It's a classic
country track, one you could imagine the likes of Emmylou covering. 'When
the pubs are all closing/ they spit out the bones/ of shrivelled up and
tired old souls/ the loveless and lonely/ in staggered despair/ with nothing
to cling to but the lips of a prayer'. That lyric alone, and the sublime
melody and chorus that accompanies it, is worth the CD's price alone. Quiet
Loner (Matt Hill) has garnered plenty of positive reviews in recent months
and I'm happy to add mine. If there's any justice, Matt should swap his flat
in inner-city Manchester for a ranch New Mexico - bought with the proceeds
from this platiunum-selling disc.
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter (Fargo)
Jesse Sykes's latest album has a
stately grandeur. It is a slow-burning, dark, brooding masterpiece that
curls its crystalline fingers around your heart and tugs the strings one by
one. Jesse's deep, dark-as-molasses voice seduces and entreats, pulling you
closer in a suffocating, claustrophobic embrace that you cannot deny. The
Sweet Hereafter - violinist Anne Marie Ruljancich (Walkabouts), upright
bass player Bill Herzog (Neko Case, Joel Phelps and the Downer Trio,
Citizens Utilities), and drummer Kevin Warner (Evangeline), and of course
Phil Wandscher (of Whiskeytown's original line-up) - perfectly complement
Jesse's tortured outpourings. The pace is, in the main, slow, the songs
twisting and writhing, like third track "Twisted Soul," with its sombre waltz
pace perfectly complementing Jesse's anguished howl. The band aren't afraid
to 'rock out', as it were, with "The Dreaming Dead" full of steely, tremelo
guitar and "Tell The Boys"' positively upbeat and featuring lovely, gospelly
organ. Fans of the Cowboy Junkies or The Walkabouts should listen to Jesse
Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter; its slow-burning, bleak balladry and lovely
instrumentation are worthy of investigation.
James Varda, In The Valley (Small Things)
Sometimes all you need is a
voice and a guitar. Sometimes plain, unadorned music, free of artifice, is
sufficient. Sometimes the sound of one man strumming an acoustic guitar and
singing songs in a clear, heartfelt voice, is enough. Enough to help slough
off the cares of the day as the music effortlessly envelops you. Such is the
case with James Varda's exquisite In The Valley. Ten simple songs, recorded
with care, that are uplifting and satisfying and bear repeated listening.
Fans of Varda, of course, will appreciate that they have had a long wait to
hear more of his work. For this release comes a mere 15 years - that's
right, 15 years - after his previous work, Hunger. Since those heady days of
his first album Varda has support artists like Roy Harper and Townes Van
Zandt and appeared at the Cambridge Folk Festival and the Reading Festival,
plus doing various TV and radio performances. All that was a long time ago.
To say the guy has, as his publicist says, kept a low profile most be the
understatement of the century. Hunger was produced by John Leckie back in
1989, but this time Varda has opted to do it himself, creating a simple,
spacious, warm sound. Some have compared him to Nick Drake, but Varda's work
contains a degree of inherent optimism that Drake was not exactly renowned
for. Standout tracks are the five-minute "That's The Time," a gorgeous
rumination on ageing, the passing of time and the realisation that maybe you
haven't achieved what you might have done. 'When you're weary and heavy and
in need of a rest, and you finally realise that you won't be blessed, that's
the time to give some thought to when your race is run.' Into The Valley is
a lovely, sincere, at times moving piece of work. I only hope we don't have
to wait another 15 years for the follow-up.
The Volebeats, Country Favourites (Turquoise Mountain)
They're a pretty eclectic bunch, The Volebeats. Are they retro Merseybeat? Are they
country-rock? Are they Abba in disguise? Who knows, who cares? What matters
if that you'll find yourself laughing when you listen to Country Favourites
- and not necessarily at the lugubrious version of the Abba hit "Knowing Me,
Knowing You," which sounds like Alan Partridge singing karaoke and taking it
very, very seriously. Country Favourites have captured the essence of
classic rock 'n' roll and country and pop and freeze dried it, then served
it up with their own special dressing. A dollop of twang, a pinch of
psychedelic, a smattering of Hank Williams. "Hold On," "Hamtrack Mama," "I Had To
Tell You" and "Maggot Brain" are as diverse a selection of songs you'll hear
anywhere. Featuring members of Outrageous Cherry and Electric Six, Country
Favourites is the only album you'll ever need. Now for the triple gatefold
next year!
Amy Wadge, Woj (Mankaton)
I didn't expect to like this album; it arrived
unsolicited and, to be honest, the rudimentary cover wasn't exactly
enticing. And the opening track, with its predictable power chords, didn't
particularly excite. But things got brighter with the second track, Scream,
a delicate piece full of acoustic guitars and gentle finger-picking solos.
By the thid track, Anywhere, Amy had got me hooked. And the reason? Well,
for a start she's got a great, raw, earthy voice; secondly, she's surrounded
herself with a top backing band - Aled Richards (Catatonia); Dave Bronze (ex
Eric Clapton) and the great Robbie McIntosh on lead guitar. The choice of
musicians shows; Amy might be a relative novice in this game, but she
punches above her weight and the 13 self-penned songs proves she has real
talent. That much is true, because she won Best Female Solo Artist at the
Welsh Music Awards in 2002 - beating Charlotte Church into the bargain.
Since then she has honed her craft, appearing at Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk
Festival and touring in Australia and the Far East. By rights, Any should be
snapped up by a major label, who should be able to elevate her further. Woj
(which is how you pronounce her name, incidentally) has traces of Bonnie
Raitt in its rootsy, bluesy stylings - and that is no bad thing. If you find
this CD buried away somewhere, spend a few quid on it and show everyone that
there's more to Wales than Cerys Matthews.
Jenny Whiteley, Hopetown (Black Hen)
And onto the track in the great female
singer-songwriter race comes Jenny Whiteley, who positions herself just to
the left of Lucinda Williams, a little behind Bonnie Raitt and within
touching distance of Dolly Parton. That's not to say Jenny sounds like any
of these musicians, but the analogy gives you a feel of where Jenny's coming
from and where she's likely to go. Hopetown straddles plenty of fences -
country, bluegrass, blues and rock - but has one standout commodity, Jenny's
weary, can't be f**ked voice. Indeed, I'll swear there's a touch of Emmylou Harris
there - try Halls Of Fulsom for starters, with its mandolin, crashing
backbeat and waltz step rhythm and lyrics about not wanting to leave prison.
Then there's Drive Anywhere, a back-slapping two minutes of pure country
fun. Back home in Toronto, Canada, Jenny has already earned a Juno award for
Heartbreak Hill and won a Best Roots/Traditional prize for her previous
album, Jenny Whiteley. In the end, Hopetown stand or falls on three things:
the quality of the songs, the quality of the playing and whether there is a
place in the starting line for a Canuk with a Deep South fixation. I'd say
yes to all three.
Issue 21, March 2004