The Looking - Lead Me To The Water (Album Review)

September 24, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Singer-Songwriter

Very occasionally an album comes along that just instantly feels like an old friend. It feels like you’ve owned it for years and you’ll always find yourself going back to it when the mood takes you. The title track which opens the new album from The Looking did just that for me. I felt an instant connection; one of those moments when a piece of music suits you right down to the ground and you just know ‘Lead Me To The Water’ is going to be a great album.

Lydia Loveless - Real (Album Review)

August 23, 2016 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

Hard to believe but ‘Real’ is the fourth album from Ohio native Lydia Loveless and she’s still only 25. On previous Bloodshot album releases Loveless has been compared to country and rock royalty in Loretta Lynn and Stevie Nicks alongside highly influential alt-rock pioneers The Replacements (needless to say with The Replacements name checked there are guitars on this record…actually that should read… there are GUITARS on this record). The album was recorded close to home at Sonic Lounge Studios in Columbus, Ohio with Joe Viers (Dr John, Twenty One Pilots) her regular producer and the result is a very fine record indeed.

Terra Lightfoot - Every Time My Mind Runs Wild (Album Review)

August 18, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Hamilton, Ontario singer and guitarist Terra Lightfoot is clearly intent on making a statement with the release of ‘Every Time My Mind Runs Wild’ the subdued vibe of her debut album, released back in 2011, is but a distant memory. For her sophomore release a new band has been enlisted and producers Gus Van Go & Werner F, best known for their work with The Stills, are behind the desk. The result is a strident rock record that manages to successfully perform the delicate balancing act of maintaining Terra Lightfoot’s roots, soul and blues influences while adding a catchy pop sensibility.

Steven Casper & Cowboy Angst - I Feel Like I've Got Snakes In My Head

April 01, 2016 by David Vousden in Singer-Songwriter, Country, Americana

Steven Casper is a new name to Red Guitar Music but his discography goes back a decade so we would seem to be a little late to the party. His latest release ‘Snakes’ was produced by Ira Ingber (Bob Dylan / Van Dyke Parks) in Los Angeles and the mini album / EP does a fine job of showcasing his particular brand of Americana which incorporates influences that range from Classic Rock to Country with a dash of Tex-Mex thrown in for good measure.

Gretchen Peters - The Essential (Album Review)

January 29, 2016 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

We enter 2016 and find Gretchen Peters embarking on a UK tour only a few months after her last visit to the UK where she performed a string of sold out shows. In 2015 the ‘Blackbirds’ album had given Peters her highest chart placing ever in the UK where she has been embraced as both a singer and a songwriter, which has not always been the case for artists in Nashville (Chris Stapleton may have recently changed that way of thinking). To coincide with the tour UK label Proper Records has put together a stunning two disc career retrospective set that will please fans old and new.

Oktoba - Smoke Signals (Album Review)

November 15, 2015 by Rich Barnard in Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Oktoba is the brainchild of Brighton-based singer-songwriter Chris Athorne. His debut EP Tales and Shadows was positively received last year, so Athorne has wasted no time in assembling a good cast of supporting musicians for an album proper, enlisting the manifold talents of Tim Bidwell as producer and engineer. Bidwell, best known for his work with fellow Brightonian Kate Walsh, clearly lavishes wagonfuls of care and attention on his subjects and, as a result, this release sounds fantastic. There’s oodles of space and texture in the arrangements and it’s impeccably recorded and mixed, as you might expect. All this really helps Oktoba stand out among the vast crowd of confessional male songsters vying for our attention.

Glen Hansard - Didn't He Ramble (Album Review)

October 20, 2015 by Rich Barnard in Americana, Singer-Songwriter, Folk

The Frames’ redheaded frontman has come a long way since the world first glimpsed him as a scrawny, fresh-faced guitarist named Outspan in The Commitments film back in 1991. In the same year, Hansard’s real-life group released their Island Records debut and The Frames still remain one of Ireland’s best-loved bands, nearly twenty five years on. He returned to the big screen in 2006, via the nicely understated film Once, which was pretty much built around his music and that of Czech singer songwriter Markéta Irglová. The runaway success of Once, now immortalised (for better or worse) by its conversion to a West End musical, marked the start of Hansard’s transition from cult star to national treasure.

Ocean Carolina - Maudlin Days (Album Review)

September 30, 2015 by David Vousden in Americana, Alternative Rock

If you call your album ‘Maudlin Days’ a dictionary would tell us to expect an overly sentimental piece which, if filmed, would result in the cast going through all manner of emotional hell while the dog….well you know what happens to the dog. Luckily ‘Maudlin Days’ doesn’t get too morose and the end result is an album that is emotional and reflective without getting too sentimental as singer-songwriter Michael Simone delves into the reality of relationships in a way that will strike a chord with many listeners.

The Naked Sun -Pickled Hearts EP (Album Review)

September 22, 2015 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, Alternative Rock

The Naked Sun hail from Philadelphia, PA and deliver a brand of Indie roots rock they have tagged ‘Honest Rock’ which should appeal to fans of the genre that like their music to be heartfelt, real and raw. The band took their name from the Isaac Asimov novel that deals with the weighty issues of how we look at the environment we live in and how we interact with our neighbours, government and society in general. The Naked Sun live up to the Asimov connection with music that is always interesting, challenging and lyrically open to interpretation.

RGM Review Round-up May 2015

May 14, 2015 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, Singer-Songwriter, Soul

Over the last few months Red Guitar Music has received a plethora of releases that we have been unable to give a full review due to the fact that there are only 24 hours in the day. With this in mind we thought an occasional round up of a few quality releases that you might have missed would be in order. So without further delay here are album reviews for Peter Blachley, Pi Jacobs and Brian Ashley Jones.

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.

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

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.

Parker Millsap

August 23, 2014 by David Vousden in Country, Album Reviews, Alt-Country, Americana

Oklahoma native Parker Millsap at just 20 is, frankly, the real deal. Raised in the Pentecostal church by parents with a love of blues and country music this release is a sparse, desolate piece of work that owes much to his personal history and Oklahoma itself.