Darlingside - Birds Say (Album Review)

July 11, 2016 by Rich Barnard in Folk, Acoustic, Album Reviews

It’s little wonder that Darlingside’s quad-vocal acoustic loveliness has had glowing reviews back home in Massachusetts, with critics comparing them to the legendary likes of Crosby Stills, Nash & Young and Simon & Garfunkel. Even though their sound is heavily informed by these godfathers of acoustic music, Darlingside are much more than just hippy throwbacks. Amid the bliss of the mandolin, banjo, lush acoustic guitars and strings, more contemporary heavyweights Iron & Wine, Fleet Foxes and Nickel Creek are all brought to mind as well. Birds Say gets a UK release on July 15th (the band already having released an EP and debut album Pilot Machines in the US) and they will be playing a short UK tour at the end of this month starting with a slot at the Cambridge Folk festival.

Blue October - Home (Album Review)

June 29, 2016 by Rich Barnard in Alternative Rock, Album Reviews

The last time I saw Blue October was at a packed-out London show in support of their 2011 album Any Man In America. To describe their live show as intense would be a serious understatement. Ferocious would be more appropriate. Petrifying would be accurate. The band’s sound was immense and frontman Justin Furstenfeld’s performance dripped with barely contained visceral rage as the album’s songs played out the bitter tales of broken family life and all its attendant carnage. It comes as something of a shock then that ‘Home,’ their new single from the release of the same name, paints a picture of total domestic bliss.

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.

Mikko Joensuu - Amen 1 (Album Review)

June 09, 2016 by David Vousden in Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

“Sometimes it feels like darkness has taken over. I know sometimes it feels that hope’s just not there” are the opening two lines of ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’ from ‘Amen 1’ the debut solo album from Mikko Joensuu. Needless to say when you match the lyrics to plaintive pedal steel, gently picked acoustic guitar and the swell of strings it’s obvious that Mikko Joensuu is dealing with some seriously weighty issues. The fact that the track has an incredibly stark, raw beauty to compliment the melancholy marks ‘Amen 1’ as the beginning of something a little bit special.

Aukai - S.T. (Album Review)

June 02, 2016 by David Vousden in Instrumental, Ambient, Album Reviews

The press release for the debut Aukai album tells us “Aukai is a Hawaiian word meaning seafarer or traveller. It’s also used as a proper name, and people who are called “Aukai" tend to have a mystical, philosophical, introspective nature.” Aukai aka Markus Sieber lives up to the ideals of the name and takes us on an introspective, aural journey that allows your imagination to decide where you are going and why.

Andy Shauf - The Party (Album Review).

May 16, 2016 by Rich Barnard in Alternative Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Album Reviews

With 2015’s self-recorded and highly acclaimed The Bearer of Bad News, Andy Shauf put himself firmly on the musical map, playing all the instruments and recording the album single-handedly. Barely more than a year later, here he is with The Party, his debut release for ANTI- and it’s a very impressive thing. As I write, Shauf is quite deservedly being exposed to a wider audience, supporting The Lumineers on their current European tour.

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.

Annie Keating - Make Believing (Album Review)

December 11, 2014 by Rich Barnard in Americana, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

For many of us, myself included, this will be our introduction to Annie Keating, but it is in fact her sixth self-released CD. Originally from Boston, Keating relocated to New York in 1992 and is one of the thousands of excellent, if relatively undiscovered, singer-songwriters doing their troubadour thing, under the radar.

Run Boy Run - Something To Someone (Album Review)

December 09, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Country, Americana, Album Reviews

Run Boy Run features brother and sister Matt Rolland (fiddle, guitar) and Grace Rolland (cello, vocals), sisters Bekah Sandoval Rolland (fiddle, vocals) and Jen Sandoval (mandolin, vocals) with bass player Jesse Allen completing the quintet. ‘Something To Someone’ is their second album and was recorded at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, WA with producers Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers) and Jerry Streeter (Brandi Carlile). The band may call Tucson, Arizona home but their acoustic blend of Bluegrass, Folk and Americana seems firmly rooted some 2000 miles across country in the sounds of the Appalachian South and is a treat for fans of traditional American music.

Fraser Anderson - Little Glass Box (Album Review)

November 30, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

Scottish singer-songwriter Fraser Anderson learnt his trade as a touring vocalist with Dougie MacLean OBE the Scottish institution best known for his song ‘Caledonia’. Anderson would go on to a solo career that commenced with a debut album ‘and the girl with the strawberry…’ released as far back as 2004 with the follow up ‘Coming Up For Air’ praised by Bob Harris no less in 2007. This decade of musical exploration has seen Anderson share the stage with such diverse talents as Joan Armatrading and rock legend Chuck Berry. Despite these achievements Anderson surprisingly still falls into the best kept secret category. It is even more surprising when you hear ‘Little Glass Box’.

Harem Scarem - Thirteen (Album Review)

November 28, 2014 by Rich Barnard in AOR, Classic Rock, Album Reviews, Melodic Rock

Canadian band Harem Scarem released their major label debut way back in 1991, an innocuous yet superbly crafted melodic rock record which was quietly well-received. They then went on to produce, to my mind, two of the very finest albums in the history of the genre: the seminal Mood Swings from 1993 (which was harder and took more chances than the debut) and 1995’s Voice of Reason, a record that was so forward-thinking many AOR buffs just couldn’t take it. Both were exquisite releases for different reasons: Mood Swings was genre-defining; Voice of Reason was genre-busting. When you’ve achieved this much with your first few releases, it’s fairly impossible to keep blowing people’s minds. As a result, Harem Scarem have found their early fanbase hard to please ever since. I have to confess that, as Harem Scarem’s career continued with a prolific stream of strong, if much safer, releases, I lost interest. In fact, I stopped paying attention somewhere around 2002’s Weight of The World, and barely even noticed that the band officially ceased to be in 2008. That said, I very much enjoyed the anniversary edition of a re-recorded Mood Swings, released last year, and its three new studio tracks revealed a band that had really benefitted from the five years off.

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.

Various - Elements Of Frictions (Album Review)

November 21, 2014 by David Vousden in AOR, Melodic Rock, Album Reviews, Classic Rock

Lions Pride Music is a new label based in Denmark and their mission statement is to bring back some of the lost voices to the AOR / Melodic Rock scene. A new label is always to be welcomed especially in these difficult times for the music business. The first release on the label is a sampler that dips into the past and also offers something new entitled ‘Elements Of Frictions’ and it will be released December 15th 2014 on CD and Digital formats.

Satin - Satin (Album Review)

November 04, 2014 by David Vousden in AOR, Melodic Rock, Classic Rock, Album Reviews

Norwegian singer-songwriter-guitarist Satin is best known for an album of KISS cover tunes ‘A Million to One’ that received great reviews a few years back. The album was released free on the net and is essential for all KISS fans. The great thing about that album is Satin was happy to reinterpret the tracks in different and interesting ways, which I will always find more interesting that just trying to redo the originals.

Elliott Brood - Work And Love (Album Review)

October 24, 2014 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Album Reviews, Americana

Canadian act Elliott Brood took a different approach for the recording of ‘Work and Love’ and decamped to the famed Bathouse Studios, on the shores of Lake Ontario. The studio is owned by The Tragically Hip and has been used by many of the best Canadian acts over the years including Blue Rodeo, Bruce Cockburn and Big Wreck. The band worked with Ian Blurton (Change Of Heart / Skydiggers / Amy Millan) and the resulting album, their first with an outside producer, is a concise nine song set that the trio consider their most personal to date

In Faith - There's A Storm Coming (Album Review)

October 21, 2014 by David Vousden in AOR, Melodic Rock, Rock, Album Reviews, Classic Rock

Do you want to have your faith in melodic hard rock restored? Well this might very well do the trick. In Faith are a UK trio that features guitarist Tony Marshall (Contagious /Pride / Vaughn), drummer Pete Newdeck (Eden’s Curse / Tainted Nation) and singer / bassist Pete Godfrey. Over the course of a two year period the trio have put together a striking slab of melodic hard rock that harks back to the classic late 80’s / early 90’s period all genre fans know and love. You could quite happily file this alongside your Harem Scarem, Winger, Von Groove and Firehouse albums. A quite stunning combination of hard edged riffs, souring guitars and massive walls of harmony vocals this hits the spot. It’s easily the best thing I’ve heard since H.E.A.T. released ‘Address The Nation’.

Police Dog Hogan - Westward Ho! (Album Review)

October 17, 2014 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Folk

Up until the launch of Red Guitar Music I was unaware of Police Dog Hogan (shame on me) but over the last few weeks the band, and their excellent ‘From the Land of Miracles’ album, have become required listening. The recent album launch show for their latest release ‘Westward Ho!’ at The Borderline in London was a terrific night out with good playing and good humour to the fore adding to my appreciation for the band.

Billy Idol - Kings & Queens of The Underground (Album Review)

October 10, 2014 by David Vousden in Rock, Album Reviews, Classic Rock

‘Kings & Queens of the Underground’ is the first album of new original material from Billy Idol since the 2005 release of ‘Devil’s Playground’ and only his third in over twenty years. Quality over quantity is the way to go. ‘Kings’ is the ideal audio accompaniment to his recently released memoir ‘Dancing With Myself’ as it looks back, but also forward as it adds some new elements to the Billy Idol sound that made him one of the biggest stars of the 80’s MTV revolution. The album was written and recorded with long-time collaborator / guitarist Steve Stevens and Billy Morrison (Royal Machines / Camp Freddy / The Cult) and produced, in the main, by Trevor Horn of Yes, The Buggles and Frankie Goes To Hollywood fame.

Luke Daniels - What's Here What's Gone (Album Review)

September 30, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Blues, Album Reviews, Singer-Songwriter

It really is quite hard to believe that ‘What’s Here What’s Gone’ sees the emergence of Luke Daniels the singer-songwriter. Daniels has, for two decades, been an in demand folk multi-instrumentalist. His work, primarily on the Melodeon, has graced releases by Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and on the scores to the recent ‘Hobbit’ films from composer Howard Shore. He is currently dividing his time between solo shows and as a member of the Cara Dillon band.

Koria Kitten Riot - Rich Men Poor Men Good Men (Review)

September 19, 2014 by David Vousden in Indie Pop, Alternative Rock, Album Reviews

Working on the editorial theory that Red Guitar Music covers a wide range of music or, in other words, things we like. Welcome Finnish Indie-Pop act, the oddly named, Koria Kitten Riot fronted by singer-songwriter Antti Reikko. The band have sited The Flaming Lips, Elliott Smith, Wilco and early Weezer amongst their influences and recorded the album in Berlin with Doug Van Sloan (Bright Eyes, She & Him) handling the mastering . The first thing that strikes you about the album is how beautifully it is constructed. The marriage of the lyrics of Reikko and the inventive musicianship of the band members is exceptional.