The Band of Heathens (from Simple Things available on BCH Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
A fiercely independent Roots Rock outfit hailing from, naturally enough, Austin, Texas, The Band of Heathens have always managed to follow their own instincts. It helped that their front line was made up of accomplished singer/songwriters with the savvy and sensibility to make music from a decidedly personal perspective. So too, they’ve never been constrained by the dictates of major label manipulation, given that they record for their own record label while remaining secure in their stature.

Consequently, the name of their new album, Simple Things, carries special significance. It consists of a series of songs that are all indicative of unbounded optimism. Not that the sentiments they share don’t deal in practical realities. ‘Lately, I’ve been asked some questions’ The Band of Heathens muse on the reserved and reflective title track. ‘On a high wire, the world below is on fire, And I can’t seem to get there in time to put it out’.

Yet, even in the midst of difficult circumstance, these songs also find them taking things in stride, as evidenced by the easy lope and affable attitude found in “Don’t Let the Darkness”, “I Got the Time”, “Damaged Goods”, and “Heartless Year”. Not that it suggests a real lack of urgency or determination. ‘When my head gets swimming like this, I need some real strong medicine’ they suggest on the stoic mid-tempo Country Rocker “The Good Doctor”. 
 
So too, despite any obvious uncertainty, clarity and confidence shine through at practically every turn, spreading sunny vibes throughout. In a sense, this may be The Band of Heathens’ most accessible effort to date, and yet, it’s not without substance. Rather, it’s a reflection of what it’s like to live in a particularly precarious time, where acceptance and perseverance are equally important attributes.

‘Don’t let the darkness get in front of you, you gotta just keep on moving, keep on pushing through’ they urge on the aforementioned opening track “Don’t Let the Darkness”, more or less establishing the mantra for the entire album. It’s good advice — vital advice even. In a difficult world, often it’s the simple things that provide a most essential anchor. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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The War and Treaty (from the album available Lover’s Game on Mercury Nashville)
With Their New Album, The War and Treaty Find Common Ground
By Lee Zimmerman
The husband-and-wife duo of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, popularly known as The War and Treaty, could be considered something of a phenomenon. Over the space of three years, two albums, and two EPs, they became one of the most talked about and highly lauded duos in Americana realms. Their combination of Gospel-like revelry, contagious and commanding R&B melodies, and vocal variety has given them a persistent presence, one enhanced not only by the joyful music they make, but also the sheer power of their personalities.

Now with a new album, the somewhat surreptitiously titled Lover’s Game, this dynamic duo elevates their efforts, probing the deeper issues of marital relationships and the difficult divide that often intrudes on even the truest intents.
‘A cliche answer would be life’ Michael Trotter replied when asked about the impetus for the new album. ‘You can't really avoid it. Live long enough, you're gonna have to come to grips with what love entails in some form or fashion. Tanya, and I really just wanted to dig deeper, and then that involved the things we love, the things we love to hate. And that's what we intended with this record….traveling all the way through down to the end, with a heavy heart and really asking the listener to continue the journey with us. Because if you have a heart for us, we have a heart for you and we’ve given your heart a kind of thumbs up throughout the album. It’s kinda like resistance is the next the next portion of the journey. So that's really the entire gist’.
 
In that regard, Lover’s Game is an unfailingly honest album, one that deals absolutely realistically with the ups and downs of real relationships and the tenuous situations that most people inevitably find themselves in.

‘Normally when we create it, it's one of us or the other leading the way’ Michael went on to say. ‘But this time, we were extremely intentional about doing this process together, from start to finish. And there were many, many arguments, many disagreements. We had to check ourselves a couple of times, because I wanted to say one thing and she wanted to say another, but ultimately, we learn how to speak together. We learned that if there's something we both want to say at the same time, it's okay to say it together. That's what I feel we accomplished, or at least tried to accomplish, but that was difficult, because there's a third voice there, which was [producer] Dave Cobb. So, we had one thing to say and then Dave's got something to say and just because he's producing, that doesn't mean that he has a say so. So, we had to navigate the equation, and before you know it, we were all trying to say the same thing. So, that's where that that process would lead us’.
 
It’s suggested that in a sense, Dave Cobb also offered his services as a marriage counselor.

‘He's a good guy, a great, great producer, one of the greatest’ Michael insists. ‘And I think what makes him special is that he knows when to get in the way and he also knows when to get the hell out of the way. That was what was key for The War and Treaty.  We've been fortunate to work with producers in that way. We worked with Buddy Miller in the past. He's the greatest. No one doesn't like Buddy. We've been very fortunate to come across some great, great producers. But when you look at what Dave Cobb is able to do, he’s able to keep you honest to who you truly are, and then pull out what he feels is the meat of the entire meal’.

Nevertheless, the duo deserve credit for baring their emotions and their relationship in general, it is all its tangles and imperfections.
 
‘We talk about it a lot’ Tanya suggested. ‘You never know what your project is going to be when you get out there as an artist and give in your vulnerability. But I think when we came out and we put out records, we were just very vulnerable. And people were, I believe, at a point in their own lives, where they just wanted to see something that was real. And you know, we're always saying we're overweight, we sweat, we get loose on stage, we come totally undone. We live in a society where everything is so perfect, and that's really not life. That’s not how we as humans operate. We're not perfect, and we're never going to be perfect. So yes, in a way, it was shocking. But at the same time, I think that humanity is all on the same wavelength. We were willing to be vulnerable, because in a lot of ways, we’re still going through the trenches’.
In that regard, it could be argued that the pair are ambassadors for the average individual, anyone seeking answers of their own. Tanya tends to agree.
 
‘I would have to say, yes to that’ she suggested.  ‘When you look at our story, it's not a perfect story. We're a blended family. So, we've had lives before one another. And we started over again, like a lot of people are starting over again. If you look at the aftermath of the pandemic, people have left jobs that they've been at for 20 years to become farmers or to do something that they've always wanted to do. They've taken the risk. That's what we did. We were homeless, we took the risk to do something that we really, really believed in. And I think that people can see how that resonates with the American story, of Michael going into the military, and him dealing with PTSD, me being there for him in our family, being there with him traveling with our children. we can hit every aspect of what it is to be a family. So, I think when people see us and they dig into our story, they really can see themselves because everybody's just trying to make it and to be happy and build the kind of family that they want to have, to have a nice home living a decent community’.

That extends to other aspects of life as well. ‘There’s the overweight thing’ Michael mentions. ‘I'm walking around here without my shirt’.
 
Of course, that sort of honesty entails a certain responsibility, and in that sense, The War and Treaty might also be considered as representatives for people of color who have managed to bridge a divide in a sometimes-stereotypical world.
 
‘We were able to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with John Lewis‘ Michael recalls. ‘It was his final march in 2020. He was beaten on that bridge. So I believe that me and Tanya have the responsibility, the musical responsibility to sing and have a voice for the voiceless. That responsibility was given to us. And so be it. That's cool. I do think about the idea of being a voice of unity. John Lewis said that a life well lived is a life that can bond, two opposing lifestyles to one another’.
 
‘When you come to a War and Treaty show, you're gonna have fun’ Tanya mused. ‘But at some point, you're going to have to look at yourself through a mirror of love, and see if you're measuring up, because that's what we should all want to measure up to. If I lost my voice today, I wouldn't stop thinking beyond that stage, still trying to unify our audiences, still trying to unify our divided United States of America, still trying to unify on a global scale. The only reason why we're even doing these records is because they give us a platform to say that, guess what? We're all brothers and sisters. That's what matters’.
 
‘We are the answer to our own problems’ Michael added. ‘And I feel that with this album, that's what we're trying to say. We're trying to connect people and connect them through our music. That's exciting to me. Yes, I want that responsibility. I was born for that. To that end, we're ready’. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
 
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Dom Flemons (from the album Traveling Wildfire available on Smithsonian Folkways Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Dom Flemons has always been a musical archivist of sorts, an artist eager to dig deep into the firmament of the Black Folk tradition, and represent it in ways that find a fit within a contemporary context. In so doing, he’s incorporated elements of Bluegrass, Folk, and traditional tones under his guise as a one man minstrel.  He’s reaped a Grammy and consistent praise for his efforts, and in the process, earned the nickname ‘The American Songster’ while becoming one of the most vital traditional troubadours plying his skills today.

Dom Flemons’ new album takes a slightly different tack, one that finds him plowing through tunes of  his own while occasionally leaning into covers from some revered sources —  the Reverend Gary Davis (“Saddle It Around”), Eric Andersen (“Song to JCB”), and Bob Dylan (the heretofore unreleased early offering “Guess I’m Doing Fine”). That said, most of these tracks maintain a consistent tone and tempo with only occasional variation in mood and mystique. “Slow Dance and “Dark Beauty” kick off the proceedings with a mild luster, while “Traveling Wildfire” and “It’s Cold Inside” tend to purvey some ominous intrigue.
 
‘Traveling Wildfire is not only a statement of my personal travel experiences, but also a metaphor for rebirth in the wake of destruction’ Flemons comments in the press materials accompanying the album. ‘It reminded me that the album is in its own way a statement about emerging from the depths of uncertainty to find a new relevance during this unprecedented moment in modern history. At the same time, the image of the traveling wildfire reminded me of how music and stories can travel from generation to generation bringing important lessons from the past into the present and the future’.

In that regard, the loping “Big Money Blues” offers a prescient look at the banking crisis that recently shook the money markets.
 
Those timely tales have, of course, always been a key component in Flemons’ musical mantra, and on a song like “Nobody Wrote It Down” he recounts the plight of the nation’s Black populace and how that legacy has been all ignored in the retelling of American history. Nevertheless, he manages to make an emphatic impression, courtesy of the amiable yet evocative archival arrangements conveyed by a backing band consisting of producer Ted Hutt contributing guitar and electric bass, Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo on drums, Marc Orrell on pump organ and bells, and Matt Pynn on pedal steel, along with cameos from Sam Bush and The Pogues’ James Fearnley. Dom Flemons  himself excels as always as the multitasker he is by taking responsibility for vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, drums, percussion, electric bass, electric guitar, and quills.
 
The plucky instrumentals “Songster Revival” and “Rabbit Foot Rag” are an ideal case in point.
 
An excellent example of modern Folk music shared in a contemporary context, Traveling Wildfire is the latest in a string of accomplishments Dom Flemons has purveyed since early on. And as always, it burns with passion and proclivity. (by Lee Zimmerman
 
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GA-20 (from the album Live in Loveland available on Karma Chief Records/Colemine Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
GA-20 needed to drop a live record to showcase what a great stage band they are. Fans know the vintage tones of their studio output, but Live in Loveland is that sound on steroids in a live setting. A perfect way to experience the gritty goodness of GA-20. A Blues band yes, but this is no sit down, Clapton-style Blues. GA-20 is a Garage Rock band operating from a Blues base, and this live record shows their unpolished, Punky and Soulful groove.
That overabundance of sweet Soul music is all over cuts like “My Baby’s Sweeter”, “Dry Run”, and “Just Because” where the band shows they can score a slow dance with old-school R&B.
GA-20 is also a band that knows how to rock. “Lonely Soul” has a go-go, rowdy lounge, Twist-beat, “Hold it One More Time” is Boogie Blues, and “By My Lonesome” is a swinging Rock number. If you’ve ever questioned Rock’n’Roll’s birth from the Blues you only need to hear this record to understand that lineage. Live in Loveland is the way to experience this trio, from Tim Carman’s minimalist but driving drumming to Matt Stubb’s smoking psychedelic guitar and Pat Faherty’s aggressive croon, this bass-less trio does a lot with a little while also connecting the dots between Blues and Garage Rock.  (by Bryant Liggett)
 
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Mike Stinson & Johnny Irion (from the album Working My Way Down on Blacking Records) (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
There’s a certain archival element that plays a part of this collaboration between longtime pals Mike Stinson and Johnny Irion. They once worked together in a California Roots Rock outfit formed more than 30 years ago. Since then, each has gone on to procure a productive solo career — Irion as the former frontman of the North Carolina-based band Queen Sarah Saturday and as the ex-partner, both personally and professionally, of Sarah Lee Guthrie, while Mike Stinson played with Lucinda Williams and Christina Aguilera as well as providing songwriting contributions to Dwight Yoakam.

Consequently, their decision to reconvene after a quarter of a century makes this an auspicious offering. Adding to that vintage antecedent, the album was recorded at a studio that contained a historical Studer analog twenty-four-track, two-inch tape machine Johnny Irion had acquired from Jackson Browne, following its employment in Browne’s home studio for the past thirty years. Consequently, with Irion playing guitars, piano, and harmonica, Stinson on drums and acoustic guitar, and the two of them sharing vocals and the songwriting credits, there’s a natural synergy between past and present. The fact that the album was recorded for Blackwing Music, an outgrowth of a famous pencil brand that went defunct in the mid ‘90s around the time the two men first worked together, finds this reunion all the more auspicious.
 
That said, there is a decidedly downbeat tone to many of the album’s offerings, as indicated not only by the sprawling title track, but a decidedly pessimistic perspective overall. ‘I’ve paid more dues than a man should have to pay’ the two declare on the frenetic opening track “The Bottle and Me”, an obvious ode to the delights of drink. That downcast demeanor continues unabated with the plodding “The Only Friend I Ever Had” thanks to the narrator’s remorseful wail, ‘I know I traded my mystique for a longtime losing streak’. Then there’s the further furtive lament of “L.A. Cowboy”, which finds the pair confessing ‘I spent my last dollar for another round’, which again is hardly a helpful sign.
 
Granted, there are plenty of upbeat entries to balance the despair — the rocking “You Came a Long Way from St. Louis”, the rollicking “Stranger Here Myself”, and the rousing “Brand New Love Song”, not to mention the supple sway that underscores “Last Chance to Hide from Love” and the easy lope that embellishes “Ponderosa Pine”. That said, it’s hard to avoid the downright despair that permeates much of these proceedings.
 
Given the fact that the two opt for such an arcane execution, that tears-in-the-bears sentiment might be easily understood. On the other hand, it’s also clear that Working My Way Down is essentially a means of working their way back up.  (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
 
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Benjamin Dakota Rogers (from the album Paint Horse available on Good People Records Co) (by Bryant Liggett)
Benjamin Dakota Rogers took advantage of 21st Century fads, and that’s the only modern moment about him and his songs. That fad is Tik Tok, and it promoted his vintage sounding songs played on old instruments, tunes that sounding like circa 1940’s post war VE or VJ day. Paint Horse is, however, a current recording, with a date of 2023 on its sleeve, featuring Benjamin Dakota Rogers as an old soul in modern times, on who has made a timeless, story-song record.
Men will always be jilted by their lovers, as evidenced in “John Came Home”, the tale telling of a man returning from war to find his lover now in the arms of his brother. “Blackjack County Chain” is an Outlaw cut, the iron links of the track title can be found wrapped around the narrators legs, “Back to You” is a tale about an ‘all or nothing’ traveler on the road and “Charlie Boy” a courting song about a love that may never come to the singer.
Paint Horse features a hat-trick of female introductions with “Maggie”, “Rosie”, and “Eloise” where Rogers is lamenting the three and their leaving ways. The fiddle, clawhammer banjo, and aggressive guitar bring usher in a front-porch picking party as they offer an old-time score to a load of sad tales while Paint Horse proves that Benjamin Dakota Rogers is just as much literary author as he is songwriter. (by Bryant Liggett)
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Banditos (from the album Right On! available on Egghunt Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Banditos, a five-piece band based in Nashville, was initially spawned over a decade ago when singer and guitarist Corey Parsons and singer/banjo player Stephen Pierce came up with the idea of combining their talents and forming a band, one that would eventually come to include lead singer Mary Beth Richards, drummer Randy Wade, and guitarist Jeffery Salter. A formidable ensemble, Banditos 2023 finds Mary Beth Richards naturally dominating the proceedings, no surprise given her dynamic presence and effusive form of expression.

One needn’t look hard for examples, be it through the rousing album opener “Time Wasted”, the staunch and steady stride of the title track, the forward thrust of “Here Tonight”, or the sheer exuberance and enthusiasm of “On My Way”. Fortunately, the band seems to have no problem keeping pace, and their equally inspired arrangements ensure that the energy remains intact. This is a band with all the right instincts, a powerhouse combo equally adept at delivering muscular pop melodies and songs with a hefty infusion of soulful bravado. As a result, Right On, as its title suggests, makes for an authoritative offering, a commanding combination of drive, determination and compelling performances. Mary Beth Richards is an absolute dynamo, ably supported by a series of assertive arrangements and the band’s intuitive efforts.
 
To be sure, the music can take a more fanciful turn, as the wistful repast of “Ozone” and the soulful sway of the aptly dubbed “Easy” clearly imply. Happily, though, it doesn’t distract from the overall dynamic. Melody and muscle get equal emphasis in the Banditos' capable hands, resulting in a rollicking collection of songs that deliver ear-pleasing results. Three albums in, this band not only can claim credibility but a certain elevated instinct as well.
(by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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The Cash Box Kings from the album Oscar’s Motel available on Alligator Records (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Unless it’s rendered with some sort of difference or distinction, the Blues can sometimes come across as a somewhat generic form of expression. In other words, it takes a specific approach to carve out an individual identity within those particular realms. The Cash Box Kings have made it their mission over the course of their collective career to do just that, and to a great extent they’ve succeeded. As a result, they’ve received a fair share of critical acclaim, including a Blues Blast Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year for their album Black Toppin’ and two BMA nominations for the album that followed, 2015’s Holding Court, both in addition to the group’s nomination as Band of the Year.
 
Although the group takes their cue from a vintage Chicago Blues post-war style that dates back to ‘40s and ‘50s — with more than a hint of early 20th century Delta Blues besides — The Cash Box Kings also manage to inject a personal approach that helps to enhance their overall appeal. Led by singer, songwriter, and harmonica player, Joe Nosek, and singer/songwriter Oscar Wilson, the band also includes guitarist Billy Flynn, bassist John W. Lauler, drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, and pianist Lee Kenehira. Together, they blend an abject devotion to the form with ample doses of their own humor and personality. It can get testy; a track on the new album tellingly-titled “I Can’t Stand You” reflects the discourse described by the name through a seemingly impromptu spoken exchange that’s amplified as contentious conversation.

Mostly though, The Cash Box Kings allow their revelry to spill over as rock-steady rhythms (as expressed in the title track and the Chuck Berry-like flourish of “Ride Santa Ride”) and songs that sound like they were drawn from vintage environs (a take on Muddy Waters’ “Please Have Mercy”, the slow, sprawling rhythm of “Nobody Called It the Blues”, and the swampy sounding “Pontiac Blues” provide prime examples). The band’s confidence and conviction are in ample evidence throughout, ensuring an added flair and finesse within the proceedings overall.
 
Ultimately, Oscar’s Motel provides The Cash Box Kings with yet another effort on which they can rest a storied reputation. Book a reservation. It’s a welcome refuge indeed.  (by Lee Zimmerman)
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The Panhandlers from the album Tough Country available on MakeWake Artists (by Danny McCloskey)
Proud of the West Texas territory they call home, The Panhandlers offer an album tribute aka sonic postcard of their homeland with Tough Country, the latest release from the band. The Panhandlers Josh Abbot feels that ‘Tough Country is a conceptual album full of snapshots of West Texas culture for the world to experience. It’s also for those in West Texas to feel seen: the farmers in ‘Where Cotton Is King’, the rancher in ‘The Last Gentleman’, the oil & gas petroplex in ‘Midland Jamboree’. But there’s a universal relatability to the feelings of this album too. Not just the hardships of the land or the fun a cocktail & friends can bring, but the human experience: love, homelessness & hypocrisy and losing a man’s best friend’. Pointing out the obvious for anyone traversing I-10 while traveling from east/west, left/right across the United States, Tough Country opens with “Flat Land”, The Panhandlers walking tall as they sing out nothing but love in “West Texas is the Best Texas”.
 
A Country Roots supergroup, The Panhandlers formed in 2019 with friends and neighbors Josh Abbott (Josh Abbott Band), John Baumann, William Clark Green and Cleto Cordero (Flatland Cavalry). The band questions reasons for staying in the Tough Country title track as Cleto Cordero duos behind the microphone with wife Kaitlin Butts for “Valentine, for Valentines”. Shuffling in on a cool breeze rhythm, “The Chilton Song” offers a DIY guide for a bad day as The Panhandlers ‘plant my ass in the Rio Grande’ heading for “Lajitas”, quietly whisper a leaving message stamped “Santa Fe”, and tenderly recall “Moonlight in Marfa”. Tough Country introduces “The Corner Comedian” as The Panhandlers bid goodbye in “Last Hangover” and say farewell as they exit the album promising “I-Got-Your-Back-Dog”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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Matt Andersen from the album The Big Bottle of Joy on Stubby Fingers Inc/Sonic Records (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Matt Andersen is one prolific individual. With ten albums to his credit, constant touring throughout the world, over 23 million streams on Spotify and 26 million views of YouTube, not to mention he has shared stages with Marcus King, Beth Hart, Marty Stuart, Gregg Allman, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Randy Bachman, Jonny Lang, Serena Ryder, and others. Matt Andersen possesses an extra dose of stamina as he clearly maintains a great degree of momentum. That extreme dexterity also finds Andersen bending boundaries. veering from Folk and Gospel to blustery Blues and abject Americana while segueing smoothly between each.
 
Consequently, Matt Andersen’s new album, The Big Bottle of Joy, presumably named for his backing band  —drummer Geoff Arsenault, bassist Mike Farrington Jr., piano player Kim Dunn, guitarist Cory Tetford, and keyboardist Chris Kirby — lives up to its title. Andersen’s a fiery and forthright singer, one who possesses true passion through a fervent combination of emotion and enthusiasm. That becomes obvious early on with lead-off track “Let It Shine”, its hammering keyboards, searing lead guitar, and assertive back-up vocals instilling a certain frenzy in the fray. On the other hand, “So Low, Solo” offers encouragement and compassion while speaking to those on opposite sides of today’s distancing and divide. ‘We’re here to hold each other up’ Anderson insists.
 
Most of the other tracks carry a similarly soulful sway, from the emphatic exhortation of “Golden”, “What’s on My Mind”, and “How Far Will You Go” to the passionate plea of “Aurora”, the emotive yet eloquent delivery of “Miss Missing You” and the shared sentiment expressed so eloquently with “Keep Holding On”, “Shoes”, “Hands of Time”, and “Only an Island”. Matt Andersen’s songs sound like standards even at the outset — notably, he had a hand in writing all but three of these new offerings — and his authoritative delivery simply underscores that impression. The take-charge Blues of “Rollin’ Down the Road” offers but one example of that persuasive prowess.
 
At this point, there’s little doubt that Matt Andersen has the talent and tenacity to establish himself as a formidable mainstream performer, an artist who can easily position himself amongst those that are finding firm footing while leaning on vintage R&B. Suffice it to say, Matt Andersen is clearly at the top of his game. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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