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Declan O’Rourke’s new record, Arrivals, is an exercise in less-is-more. For his seventh LP (and his first for eastwest), the celebrated Irish 44-year-old has Paul Weller in the production chair and though the songs are stripped to their bones, they want not for richness or depth.
Read MoreAs a ground-down and curmudgeonly father of two, I am possibly not the best person to be reviewing Sara Watkins’ new children’s album. Children’s album. To me, it’s a chilling pairing of words. Having endured eight long years of inane toddler CDs on perpetual repeat, I like to think that this particular hell-genre has in some way contributed to my frankly harrowing mental and physical decline. I put it to you that children’s music is just one of the many unpleasant forms of torture visited upon unsuspecting parents the world over and therefore ought not to be encouraged.
Read MoreFor 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.
Read MoreJustin 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.
Read More22 year-old Leith Ross’ debut EP, Motherwell, is a quietly brilliant and deeply affecting collection of confessional songs. The Ottawa -based singer songwriter (who is presumably of Scottish heritage) recorded the eight-song set in a single afternoon, giving it an unpolished charm and uncommon immediacy. The frailty of human experience; the loneliness of early adulthood and the emotional resonances of family and personal history are captured in intimate, lo-fi detail, on what is one of the most remarkable releases of the year so far.
Read MoreIt’s been six years since Sam Brookes emerged with his warmly-received debut Kairos and its follow-up, Black Feathers, is the product of a period of change and loss for the artist. Following the passing of his father, the breakdown of a relationship and the death of a close friend, the album that Brookes felt compelled to make next is, as you might expect, a reflective and soul-scouring affair - he calls it a “meditation on grief” - but remarkably there’s little about Black Feathers that feels maudlin or macabre.
Read MoreJon Gomm has long been known as a guitar-playing pioneer, using a Michael Hedges-inspired brand of percussive fingerstyle wizardry as the backdrop to his songwriting. While you - yes, you - clock up millions of hours sat on your posterior in front of Netflix, you can be certain that Jon Gomm is putting in the equivalent practising. I suspect he even practises while having a wee, but let’s not linger on how that might work. Anyway, as your teachers always told you, practise pays off and everything about Jon Gomm’s playing is flawless on his latest record, The Faintest Idea. While similarly gifted artists like Newton Faulkner have successfully crossed over into the mainstream, Gomm has gathered his successes more quietly, remaining fiercely independent (this is the first of his albums not to be self-released) and retaining the respect of his peers while still winning thousands of fans around the world.
Read MoreAshley Campbell’s back story is pretty well known, but for any newcomers, Ashley is the daughter of country legend Glen Campbell whose impressive musicality would rub off on her as she learned to play the guitar and latterly the banjo, which became her primary instrument - initially for an appearance in a play she was acting in at the time. Ashley is the youngest of Glen’s eight children and would follow, in what became something of a family tradition, and join his touring band as Glen bravely battled Alzheimer’s, and spread awareness about this most devastating of diseases. Ashley released her debut album ‘The Lonely One’ in 2018 which highlighted her sweet vocals, banjo prowess and emotive songwriting supporting the album with regular visits to the UK, including shows at C2C and Black Deer Festival. As with most debut albums, ‘The Lonely One’ struggled a little to stay focused as Ashley dabbled with country-pop and a more traditional sound, but the album flowed well and was an enjoyable listen. Ashley seemed equally adept in both genres - and the good was very good – so I was eager to see which Ashley Campbell would deliver her sophomore release.
Read MoreOrdinarily I have little time for what I call the dungaree-thumbing end of the country music spectrum. Yet I find myself irresistibly drawn to rootsy Canadian singer songwriter Scott Cook. Tangle of Souls is the seasoned troubadour’s seventh album and is accompanied by a whopping 240-page cloth-bound, hardback book. This little tome, of which I confess I have only scratched the surface, is an autobiographical work of folk-philosophy that deserves a review or three all by itself. In it, the self-confessed “full-time rambler” weaves the story of each song through the pages with honesty, self-awareness and uncommon academic flair (quotes! references! footnotes!). But, at the risk of doing Mr Cook a disservice, I am going to focus on the music.
Read MoreThere are some people in this world who are so multitalented that it’s just plain rude and accomplished American fingerstyle guitarist, singer and songwriter Jake Allen is one of these preposterously blessed human beings. Where so many others have failed, Allen’s new album succeeds in keeping the guitar right at the centre of things without compromising any sonic vision. And, on Affirmation Day there is sonic vision in abundance.
Read MoreShannon LaBrie’s 2017 album War & Peace was met with the kind of critical acclaim most musicians only ever dream of and, while it put the honey-voiced singer on the map, her musical identity remained a little elusive, with her lyrically sharp songwriting left shrouded in smokey soul and easy-country robes.
Read MoreAs many far more literate than yours truly have concluded over the years “The best-laid plans of mice and men” are often subject to the fickle hands of fate. Irish actress and singer Lisa Lambe has enjoyed a highly successful career in her home country with a string of well-received roles mainly on the stage. The multi-talented Lambe was also a member of Celtic Women who unsurprisingly found enormous success in America (10 Million+ worldwide CD/DVD sales) with their blend of traditional and contemporary Irish music. In 2015 she embarked on a solo career, recording an album in Nashville ‘Hiding Away’ that received cautiously positive feedback with reviewers praising Lambe’s voice while adding that the album of folk-infused songs - in the main by outside writers including Paul Brady -had been given a Nashville sheen that wasn’t necessarily required.
Read MoreScottish-born singer-songwriter Evangeline Gentle moved to Canada at the age of 11 and was winning awards by the age of 18. This debut - which follows the acapella EP You And I, released earlier in the year - has been three years in the making and is assured and mature, brimming with the kind of lyrical clarity and songwriting skill that many artists spend a career chasing. Lovingly produced by Jim Bryson, it is as comforting and spacious as a velvet-curtained ballroom that you and your significant other find you have all to yourselves.
Read MoreAs usual, RGM has been inundated with quality music from here, there and everywhere. We’re not complaining, especially in these difficult times when a good tune can provide shelter from the pandemic storm. RGM scribe Rich Barnard found time from homeschooling and making the kids lunch to check out four recent/upcoming albums that we believe are well worth your time and/or hard-earned money From Canada via the wilds of Scotland to sunny California welcome to the July edition of the RGM review roundup.
Read MoreIn these days of short attention spans and instant gratification, there’s something very refreshing about sitting down with your favourite beverage, placing an album on/in the stereo and letting an artist take you on a musical journey. Nick D’Virgilio has been on a personal musical journey that began a few years before the release of his debut solo album back in 2001. Nick is probably best known for his time in Spock’s Beard where he started as the drummer and branched out into frontman duties. But this association barely scratches the surface of a varied and interesting CV; there’s an ongoing relationship with Big Big Train – and fifteen years working with Tears For Fears - while still finding time to record and/or perform with many of the best in the business including the late Kevin Gilbert, Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) and a five-year stint as drummer/singer/assistant bandleader with the Cirque Du Soleil organisation touring their Totem show. For ‘Invisible’ Nick D’Virgilio (NDV) pulls together elements from all of his various musical endeavours and throws in a left turn or two on an obvious labour of love that finds the singer/drummer/multi-instrumentalist at the top of his game.
Read MoreUnbound by genre, Robert Francis’ latest record is the unlikely betrothal of Tom Pettyish classic rock to 90s Radioheadia. Dalliances with Americana, Jazz and 60s psych leave their mark on this otherwise most stable of marriages within which Francis dissects - often ambivalently - the regret and restlessness of human relationships. There are those that are destructive, those that are desperate and those that have long since disintegrated and alongside, of course, there is the ever-changing relationship with the self.
Read MoreWe all deal differently with the loss of a loved one. There is no right or wrong way to react when placed in a situation that is, unfortunately, one of the tough facts of life from which none of us will be immune. There’s no road map; no perfect A-Z guide on how to do things, what to say, how to feel, how to deal with that almost overwhelming rush of emotions as so many thoughts and memories surface demanding your attention. Teghan Devon’s new EP ‘Little Lion’ might be about the loss of a childhood pet – or so it seems on the surface - but in dealing with that situation she’s tapped into the universal feelings we experience when faced with the loss of someone close to us.
Read MoreKevin Hunt might well be a new name to many and ‘Devil’s Daughter’ is indeed his debut album but dig a little deeper and you’ll find twenty-five years of hard work and plenty of road miles etched into the grooves of ‘Devil’s Daughter’. Kevin’s slow ascent up the folk music ladder was boosted by an appearance at Cambridge Folk Festival in 2018 and the time was finally right to get his songs captured for posterity. The Irishman ventured into Gladeside Studios in Cambridge, where producer Dan Wilde was the man entrusted to capture the essence and spirit of those road worked tunes.
Read MoreSharing an easy-going vocal intimacy with Josh Rouse and Paul Simon, singer-songwriter Ken Yates’ new album is undeniably gentle on the ear. Spotlessly produced by multi-instrumentalist Jim Bryson (who also worked on Yates’ 2016 LP, Huntsville) there’s a light, west coast sheen to Yates’ brand of folky Americana. But, delve a little deeper and you’ll quickly find a sobering lyrical wisdom that’s not always synonymous with the genre.
Read MoreWelcome to the return of an occasional RGM feature where we corral a quartet of upcoming and/or recent releases that we believe should be on your musical wish list. From bigger names to those on the first rung of the career ladder all of the artists featured here are well worth your time. From a singer-songwriter we discovered via a well-chosen support slot at a live show (you do remember live shows?) to more high profile acts with a proven pedigree the RGM team are always on the lookout for new music. So please join us on the search.
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