S. K. Wellington’s debut EP is the lovingly-nurtured baby of Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Kemmers. It follows a long period of stepping back from her musical endeavours to stop, reassess and rekindle her creative fires. As a result there’s a confident, easy and nothing-to-lose vibe coursing through this four song collection which significantly contributes to its appeal.

Kemmers is one half of duo Lighter Than Arrows and was onetime member of indie rock band The Wellington Folk. She is joined here by the rhythm section of Dave Landreth and Ryan Voth, along with the effortless, watery guitar work of Murray Pulver (I know I just used the word watery there but no other term would do) and keyboard player Mike Little who is also responsible for the EP’s crisp and super-clean production.

Kemmer’s full-bodied vocal is reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan and the much-underrated Jennifer Kimball, ranging as it does from a strong, deep alto to a soaring, sweet soprano. Opener ‘Salish Sea’ is the perfect platform for these talents, opening broodily with an evocative set of lines “packed the car up / drove it straight West / all my life’s work / in the rearview mirror” before the band all fall in to the waterfall of the song’s lush chorus and glorious, rushing middle eight. (And no I don’t think we’ve heard the last of the moisture-based metaphors.)

‘Good Things’ is the closest we get to country and has a philosophical, positive message: “take all the good things and bring them along”. It ticks box after box for Americana lovers: chiming acoustic guitar; drums with a solid swagger; swelling Hammond, textbook gurgling guitar solo. ‘Moment’s Bliss’ is, by contrast, a rather rockier affair with Pulver pulling out all the stops in the guitar department. The song’s message is in line with the optimism and positivity of the opening tracks but the sonic toughness provides a welcome juxtaposition - imagine the Indigo Girls have joined a biker gang and you’ll be halfway there.

The EP comes to a close all too soon with ‘Salt Spring Island’ - the place where Kemmers spent her months off - and it’s a gentle tribute to the place that helped her relocate her musical mojo and dive back in. And I, for one, am very thankful that she did and I’m hopeful that we’ll be hearing more from S. K. Wellington in the near future.

Review by Rich Barnard.

http://www.skwellington.com

Featured Singer-Songwriters @RGM

Sep 18, 2024

John Surge and The Haymakers - Maybe You Don't Know Me EP

Sep 18, 2024

To quote John Surge, “These five songs represent a real cross-section of the music we make”. John is referencing a new EP aptly titled, ‘Maybe You Don’t Know Me’. The ‘Almost Time’ album from last year was well received, but Surge still had a host of material that wasn’t quite right for that record but worked well in his live set. A live set that had gotten John noticed on the LA country scene in the first place. Surge re-connected with highly regarded Texas producer Tommy Detamore {Doug Sahm, Jim Lauderdale, Sunny Sweeney, Jesse Daniel} and reenlisted many of the ‘Almost Time’ crew including his right-hand Haymaker guitarist Randy Volin, plus Brennen Leigh on harmony vocals, Brad Fordham (Dave Alvin/Hayes Carll) on bass, Tom Lewis (Junior Brown/Raul Malo) on drums and Floyd Domino (Asleep at the Wheel, Merle Haggard) on keyboards.

Sep 18, 2024

Jul 7, 2023

Fred Abbott and The Wild Unknown - Shining Under The Soot (Album Review)

Jul 7, 2023

Fred Abbott may be better known to you as the guitarist from the much-loved and hard-to-pigeonhole band Noah & The Whale. A popular live draw, their refreshing, inventive approach to songwriting and record-making set them apart from the crowd but ultimately the band split in 2015, with four albums to their name. Abbott’s solo debut, Serious Poke, appeared shortly after, sporting a more straightforward, guitar-centred sound. Eight years later - and having gained broad experience as a session musician and producer in between - Abbott has returned with Shining Under The Soot, a mature and beautifully crafted follow-up, brimming with energy and heart.

Jul 7, 2023

May 4, 2023

Ledfoot and Ronni Le Tekrø - Limited Edition Lava Lamp (Album Review)

May 4, 2023

Ledfoot aka Tim Scott McConnell and Ronni Le Tekrø seem, at first look, like an odd pair. Tim, born in Florida, has been based in Norway for many years, adopting the Ledfoot moniker in 2007 after a string of solo releases on major labels and as frontman of The Havalinas. Ronni Le Tekrø is best known as the guitarist in TNT, Norwegian rock royalty, enjoying considerable international success since their formation in 1982. The Norwegian connection would seem to be the cement here, and ‘Limited Edition Lava Lamp’ is their second record as a duo.

May 4, 2023

Sam Outlaw - Popular Mechanics (Album Review)

Mar 2, 2022

The press release that accompanied ‘Popular Mechanics’ referenced Kenny Loggins, Tom Petty and Cyndi Lauper, all acts that have a home in my collection, so I was intrigued to hear what exactly Sam Outlaw had in mind on his new album. Listeners familiar with Outlaw and his impressive back catalogue might find the mention of Cyndi a tad incongruous as his previous records had received positive reviews for their take on the southern California country sound. As it turned out, I was pleased to find Outlaw might have taken a left turn, but he was far from lost.

Mar 2, 2022

Feb 4, 2022

Jack Francis - Jack Francis (Album Review)

Feb 4, 2022

Listening to Jack Francis is a bit like getting reacquainted with an old friend. The Southampton troubadour has a knack with a melody and a transatlantic approach reminiscent of 70s songwriters such as The Band, Paul Simon and Van Morrison. The route to his self-titled album might have been a long and circuitous one, but the resulting record is a triumph that should crack a smile on the most stone-faced individual.

Feb 4, 2022

Jan 21, 2022

Noah Guthrie - Blue Wall (Album Review)

Jan 21, 2022

In 2022 everybody and their dog is making a record which can be both a blessing and a curse (as the RGM inbox often reminds me). The upside to this situation is the myriad ways to discover new artists, which brings me to Noah Guthrie. Admittedly Noah Guthrie is hardly a new name, as watchers of reality TV talent shows will already be well aware (Guthrie reached the semi-final of America’s Got Talent in 2018) and even appeared in the final season of Glee. Neither of these events popped up on my radar, but late one night, lost down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos, I stumbled upon guitarist Rhett Shull preparing for a gig with a bloke named Noah Guthrie…

Jan 21, 2022

Jun 9, 2021

John Hinshelwood - Called Back (the poems of Emily Dickinson) (Album Review)

Jun 9, 2021

For his sixth solo release Scottish singer and songwriter John Hinshelwood has taken a different approach to his craft inspired by the poems of Emily Dickinson (1830-1886). The reclusive Dickinson, who wrote almost 1800 poems during her lifetime, conducted most of her correspondence with the outside world via letter, especially after she retreated to her bedroom in later life. The sheer volume of Dickinson’s work was not discovered until after her death and she is now considered one of the finest American poets of her generation. John Hinshelwood readily admits that his connection to Dickinson was initially limited to a mention of her in a Paul Simon song, but the purchase of a volume of ‘Selected Poems’ would spark an interest that would become an obsession (in a good way).

Jun 9, 2021

May 19, 2021

Jesse Terry - When We Wander (Album Review)

May 19, 2021

Jesse Terry is the kind of musician you could happily take home to meet your folks, safe in the knowledge that your imminent engagement would get their full endorsement. Your mother would ask, flushed, “is he too good to be true?” I don’t think there is anyone quite as clean-cut as Jesse Terry in the whole wide world of Americana. It’s just a pity for all you singletons that he is already married (to wife Jess – Jess, I know!) and has a young daughter. Unsurprisingly, then, family is at this record’s heart, as Jesse and Jess were raising their child on tour until being forced off the road by the pandemic. It’s the first time Terry has properly pulled over in a decade, having been a full-time troubadour with Jess by his side since 2010.

May 19, 2021

Apr 21, 2021

M G Boulter - Clifftown (Album Review)

Apr 21, 2021

As concepts for albums go, faded Essex seaside towns might not be the most likely choice but singer-songwriter M G Boulter has carefully hewn a hugely affecting set of songs from the rocks of Clifftown, a pseudonym for his beloved Southend-on-Sea. For those new to the name, Boulter has been making solo records since 2013, having cut his teeth in various bands and he’s now signed to the independent label Hudson Records, alongside Karine Polwart, Bellowhead and Jenny Sturgeon. With a vocal that is as vulnerable as Neil Young but as English as Nick Drake, M G Boulter has concentrated the promise of his first two records into an extremely accomplished third that marries his poetic lyrics with intricate (but unshowy) guitar playing.

Apr 21, 2021

Apr 14, 2021

Amigo The Devil - Born Against (Album Review)

Apr 14, 2021

2018’s ‘Everything Is Fine’ was one of that year's finest releases and marked Danny Kiranos aka Amigo The Devil as one to watch. ‘Everything Is Fine' is a terrific record full of dark imagery unhindered by genre stereotypes. It might not be quite everyone’s cup of tea but if you like a good murder ballad delivered by a heavily bearded man with a banjo then ‘Everything Is Fine’ could well become your go-to album. As it turned out the album only told half the story as the RGM team found on our last but one pre lockdown night out in February of 2020. The Amigo The Devil live experience is something else entirely, ‘Everything Is Fine’ is a fantastic record but put ATD on a stage and the results are very special. In forty years of gig-going, I’ve rarely seen an artist connect with an audience in the same way as ATD. The subject matter might often be jet black but ATD is not without humour and his followers appreciate the honesty within and can relate to his grasp of the daily problems we all face, and how we deal with those problems that have, in many cases, been exaggerated by the world around us in 2021.

Apr 14, 2021

Mar 19, 2021

Morgan Wade - Reckless (Album Review)

Mar 19, 2021

For some artists timing is everything. Sometimes it’s because your face suddenly fits and your take on a chosen genre finds a home, but for others, it’s a little more complicated. Raised in Floyd, a small town in Virginia, Morgan Wade was surrounded by the sounds of country, predominantly bluegrass, from an early age. In later years as she began to progress as a singer and a songwriter, Wade struggled to picture her voice alongside the likes of Shania Twain and Faith Hill on the radio “Alright, well, I’m not going to sing for anybody else - but I’m singing for myself”. Wade played publicly for the first time at 19 with a band picked up via Craigslist (probably not something that I would advise all things considered) and the ball started rolling.

Mar 19, 2021

Mar 15, 2021

Justin Rutledge - Islands (Album Review)

Mar 15, 2021

Justin Rutledge has put out a steady stream of critically acclaimed but somewhat under-noticed albums since his 2003 debut. Eighteen years on, Islands is – at just nine songs – a lean retrospective of stripped-back, acoustic versions, alongside two new tracks. Few artists possess Rutledge’s poetic lyrical flair and even fewer can boast a career of such a consistently high quality so, for the uninitiated, Islands could be the perfect stepping stone to the mainland of his back catalogue.

Mar 15, 2021