​Willie Nelson (from Last Leaf on the Tree available on Sony/Legacy Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Forget Ponce de León and his claim to have found the Fountain of Youth. Willie Nelson has the patent on longevity, and at 91 years-old he is an active and agile as ever. There must be something in that Willie-reserve that holds the secret to his ongoing verve and vitality. So too, it would be hard to blame anyone who’s lost count of the number of albums Willie’s released over the past few years, let alone over the decades of his career. Yet somehow, each of his new offerings manage to sound as fresh, vibrant, and relevant as anything one might expect from an artist a fraction of his age.  Granted with a title like Last Leaf on the Tree, it might also seem to some like Willie is winding down, but in truth, it’s indicative of the fact he’s constantly reinventing himself. He’s made it a habit to cover a dazzling array of different genres over the years, ranging from classic to contemporary, be in Country, Rock’n’Roll, Americana, Jazz, standards, or any hybrid style that happens to in between.
 
As always, he succeeds by choosing an impressive array of material. Here he taps Neil Young, Keith Richards, Warren Zevon, Tom Waits, Nina Simone, and The Flaming Lips, along with his originals as well. So, while it may seem a somewhat eclectic collection, Willie’s sobering, well-aged vocals add an assurance and sincerity that’s undeniably his own. That said, the theme of mortality seems to run through many of these songs (“If It Wasn’t Broken”, “Lost Case”, “House Where Nobody Lives”, “The Ghost”), but it’s Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me In Your Heart”, Tom Waits’ “Last Leaf”, and Neil Young’s haunting “Broken Arrow” that make the most striking impression. When, on the former, he suggests he will be making an eminent departure, one might believe he’s sharing the same fond farewell that Zevon did when he knew he was dying due to a terminal diagnosis. It’s a plea to be remembered well after his passing.
 
‘Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for a while
If I leave you, it doesn't mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for a while’
 
Both poignant and personal, it affirms the fact he hopes his legacy will linger. Happily, in Willie’s case, he continues to enhance it with each and every new effort and the multiple releases that follow at that. Suffice it to say, Willie Nelson is a force of nature, and like nature itself, he boasts a powerful presence. With his son Micah in the producer’s chair, Last Leaf on the Tree is a testament to both his talent and tenacity. ‘They say I have staying power’ he sings in that aforementioned title track, and that’s clear now more than ever. Happily, there’s no reason to stop now, and like the tree from which the leaves fall, as sure as the seasons change, Willie Nelson finds renewal yet again. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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The Infamous Stringdusters (from the album Undercover, Vol 3 available on Americana Vibes) (by Bryant Liggett)
The Infamous Stringdusters are so much more than a Blue- and New-Grass band. Yes, they are armed with your traditional Bluegrass instruments, and when they want to be traditional, they’ll do so and get a solid nod of approval from any Bluegrass purists. But they’ll also expand into any territory they feel, knocking out Jam, Indie, and Classic Rock, doing so with respect to the originals while also pushing boundaries. Their latest in Undercover Vol. 3 finds them covering some things you may expect while also saying ‘screw it’ and going for the Pop stars.
Like covering Harry Styles; the electro pulses in Styles’ “As it Was” are replaced by the full string band thump of The Stringdusters, but both are Pop gems. You also wouldn’t see a cover of Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” coming, their take on the late Swedish DJ and producer’s hit doesn’t take many liberties, and it shouldn’t. It’s a straight-up cover that sounds great, Travis Books vocals solid and smooth.
Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey” is uber-jammy and wonderful, Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like and Eagle” builds like a loose jam before busting into the song, ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” is delivered in an acoustic-funky package, and Phish’s “Possum” comes in a textbook New-Grass package loaded with superb picking. They are a bold band, as some groups wouldn’t have the stones to cover a Pop star whose fanbase are kids, The Infamous Stringdusters, however, are all about the song. They hear it, they dig it, and they’ll cover it, and cover it well. (by Bryant Liggett)
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​Paul Kelly (from the album Fever Longing Still available on Cooking Vinyl Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Australia and other Down Under domains often take secondary standing when compared to the better-known musical capitols such as L.A., London, Nashville, Austin, New York, and the various other musical hot-spots where musicians traditionally take root, and subsequently spreads to audiences worldwide.  Artists like Crowded House, Kasey Chambers, Neil and Tim Finn, and the initial incarnation of Little River Band proved the Aussies had earned the right to be included as purveyors of popular music thanks to a distinctive sound and style all their own.
 
Paul Kelly is another of those artists who can be considered responsible for upholding that image, courtesy of his 29 albums and a career that extends back nearly four decades. His new album, Fever Longing Still, marks his first new collection in six years, not counting the various compilations that have helped to reinforce his status as a remarkable Singer/Songwriter worthy of international repute. Recorded in tandem with longtime collaborators — Peter Luscombe (drums), Bill McDonald (bass), Dan Kelly (guitar), Cameron Bruce (keys), and Ash Naylor (guitar) — it comes across as more of a band effort overall, thanks in part to the steady pacing of songs such as “Houndstooth Dress”, “Love Has Made a Fool of Me”, “Taught By Experts”, and “Let’s Work It Out In Bed” in particular. 
 
As evidenced by several of those aforementioned song titles, Paul Kelly possesses a certain sardonic wit that manages to find a creative mesh which binds sentiment and sarcasm in equal measure. His songs are always profoundly engaging, and whether opting for a jaunty reprieve, as per “Hello Melancholy, Hello Joy”, the easy caress of “Harpoon to the Heart”, or the arched enthusiasm of “All Those Smiling Faces”. Even when Kelly relies on a simple strum, as on “Back to the Future”, the mix of tenderness and tenacity is clearly in evidence. 
 
The fact that the album title is lifted from a work by William Shakespeare, one of Paul Kelly’s literary idols, testifies to the fact that his reputation for literacy, emotional expression, and an everyman sensibility is what makes his music relatable and affecting. This fever can be considered contagious. (by Lee Zimmerman)  
 
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​Jeffrey Foucault (from the album The Universal Fire available on Fluff and Gravy Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Jeffrey Foulcault is an exceptional Singer/Songwriter, and with 18 albums to his credit, both on his own and in the company of fellow travelers, he’s highly regarded as one of today’s most notable voices in Americana realms. Of course, there’s a lot of competition vying for such standing, and it takes passion and perseverance to secure notice and notoriety. Nonetheless, Jeffrey Foucault was inspired by the best — Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, and Rodney Crowell being among his initial influences. He’s achieved his kudos of his own along the way, but that big breakthrough that brings some decided public perception remains elusive overall.
Whether or not Foucault’s latest offering, The Universal Fire, will alter that status remains to be seen, but if quality, care, and compassion are factored in, then indeed, it may offer a chance to attain that big breakthrough. He’s been reasonably prolific up until now, and it is, in fact, Jeffrey Foucault’s first new release outing in some six years. 
Nevertheless, it’s an album that’s highly charged with emotion, one written and recorded in the wake of the loss of his best friend, drummer Billy Conway, to whom the record is dedicated. It finds Jeffrey Foucault ruminating on the deeper meaning of mortality, loss, and those unexpected encounters that intercept one’s life without warning or regard. The melodies mostly complement those meditative musings, from the hushed and haunting circumspect of “Winter Count”, the pensive perspective of “East of the Sunrise”, and the title track, to the steady stride of “Solo Modelo”, the easy flow of “Moving Through”, and the breezy tempo that glides throughout “Crushed Ice and Gasoline”. On the other hand, there’s a contradictory tone taken on “Sometimes Love”, a song that describes unsettled circumstance borne from a love affair that relies more on convenience than comfort, but becomes binding all the same.

‘Sometime love 
Isn’t noble or grand
Sometime love
Burns right through your hands
Sometimes love
Just hurts you so bad…’
Indeed, it’s an imperfect world, but with the help of some exceptional musicians — including pedal steel player Eric Heywood, saxophonist Mike Lewis, singers Pieta Brown and Kris Delmhorst, and various members of Calexico and Bon Iver —-Jeffrey Foucault effectively captures those feelings that are often in flux and yet impenetrable at the same time. It is, in fact, the very thing that fuels that universal fire, a blaze that sears the souls of all those unnerved in a most tumultuous time. (by Lee Zimmerman)
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​J.D. Simo, Luther Dickinson (from the album Do the Rump! available on Forty Below Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
J.D. Simo and Luther Dickinson sound like they are having a great time dosing The Blues with the explorative musical treatments on Do the Rump!, the recent and first album from the pair. That trippy effect comes in the form of Blues all under a Boogie and Psychedelic trance umbrella, a place where dirty Blues guitars live on top of a scrappy, percussive-pace.
“Street People” opens Do the Rump! with a gritty grind, a dirty, beautifully underproduced sound that sets the sonic pace for the rest of the album. “Lonesome Road” comes across like the experimental closer you’d hear on any Funkadelic record dropped in the 1970’s, complete with a hazy inspired solo. The entire record has Psychedelic under- and overtones. “Come and Go With Me” is the score for a stroll with cool in your stride, “Do The Rump Louise” kicks off with a drum shuffle that’s classic North Mississippi Allstars slow Boogie, and that the beat remains juke-joint heavy in “Come On.”
Album closer,  “Peaches”, is more trance-jam, and satisfying. This is not commercial-radio Blues, and fans of needing something clean like slow-hand may keep moving. This is left of the dial , late-night Blues, a sound that screams ‘lets start playing and see what happens’. It’s experimental Garage-Rock with a Punk attitude, where Psychedelic audio ventures and dirty tunings give the songs some psychedlicized muscle with your Boogie. (by Bryant Liggett)
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​Kasey Anderson (from the album To the Places We Lived available on Nervous Kid Records/In Music We Trust) (by Danny McCloskey)
Memories, present day and looking into the future, are all included in the love story of “Believers”, the opening track on To the Places We Lived, the recent release from Kasey Anderson. Expanding on the shared beliefs of two people, Kasey Anderson songs spring from the pen of a true believer. Whether the music sways, as in the echo-dappled dreamlike march of “The Lost Parade”, or the Rock’n’Roll spit and snarl of “Paint It Gold”, the words and music of To the Places We Lived are a light in the darkness. Characters that live on the edge, desperation and determination ride-sharing across the emotions that course like blood through the stories. Beginning a musical path with his 2004 release, Dead Roses, Kasey Anderson has been dedicated to making music that matters, both in his own life and as a gift to a worldwide community. To the Places We Lived closes the door on twenty years of making music for Kasey Anderson, and it will be his final release. Of the reasoning, and process, Kasey shared ‘I wrote To the Places We Lived to be my last record. I thought a lot about Nowhere Nights while we were making To the Places We Lived because this record picks up where Nowhere Nights left off; a sort of spiritual sequel, I suppose. One of the privileges of being a writer is I get to decide how and when any given story ends. I’m glad I hung around long enough to finish this one’.
 
The guitar snarls like the spite in “Ain’t Going Back to Nashville” as admissions become advice for “Leave an Echo”, and the tale of “Ellensburg” drifts in mist-like sonics. The powerful backbeat supports the family traditions handed down in “Readynow” while “Start Again” walks with confident strides over a highway song for the soul. Kasey Anderson exits To the Places We Lived on the title track, its story moves from summer New York City to the west coast, the heat of the groove mirroring the intense realities of its tale. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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​JD McPherson (from the album Nite Owls on New West Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

JD McPherson is one of those artists who simply cannot be confined to any particular genre. He owes his allegiance only to the basic tenets of an essential template — that of Rock’n’Roll, Rockabilly and Rhythm & Blues. That’s evident at the outset, with songs such as “Sunshine Getaway”, “I Can’t Go Anywhere with You”, and “Just Like Summer” offering astute examples of a decidedly scrappy style. He draws his influences from Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard, but at the same time, there’s nothing that could be considered archaic or outdated about his approach. He conveys an urgency and enthusiasm that finds an easy fit within contemporary confines. Take, for example, the unbridled urgency of the title track. It is a pulsating tempo adds a certain tension to the proceedings without distracting from any overall insistence. 

Yet despite his penchant for mostly keeping to the basics — the effortless tone and tempo cascading through “Shining Like Gold” sounds like something that could have found a fit on Classic Rock radio — McPherson’s melodies offer a hint of a somewhat peevish personality. As an example, his ode to “The Rock and Roll Girls” suggests a certain inherent insurgency:
 
‘I hear a rumble 
Like a thunder through the walls
It turns and tumbles as it
Dims the light handshakes the halls’
 
It’s not unlike something David Bowie, Ian Hunter, or Ramones might have tossed off during a fit of reckless, rebellious abandon “Baby Blues” maintains that drive and dynamic, while the surf guitar instrumental “The Phantom of New Rochelle” would likely have made Dick Dale particularly proud. 
 
That’s not to say McPherson lacks his own personality. The ominous and insistent “Don’t Travel Through the Night Alone” takes a particularly sinister stance, although it’s quickly countered by The Beach Boys-like shine and shimmer of “That’s What A Love Song Does To You”. Ultimately, there’s no way to pin JD McPherson down. In the end, Nite Owls soars on both its verve and vitality.  (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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​Trampled by Turtles (from the EP Always Here available on Banjodad Records/Thirty Tigers) (by Bryant Liggett)
Trampled by Turtles has always been difficult to categorize. It’s a great angle for gaining listeners; you keep your sound somewhat similar from album to album, dropping in just enough of something different each record to draw in new ears. Traditional Bluegrass fans give way to Jam and New-Grass, then you drop an EP like their latest in Always Here and you pull in the Indie Folk crowd, while incorporating non-traditional Bluegrass instrumentation.
Like a piano, making a subtle appearance in the opener “You Never Let Me Down”, a mid-tempo Folk cut with a viola and cello drifting, at points, into a Classical Music realm. Country Pop crooner LeAnn Rimes makes an appearance on two cuts. “Out of Time” kicks off with a mandolin riff giving way to Rimes’s backing and lead harmonies, a complimenting bonus to the assembly of violin and cello, while she offers her rich voice fills among the soft instrumentation on “On My Way Back Home”.  “Forever” is a weeper dressed up as a hopeful love tune, complete with the admission line in ‘my heart is rusted metal, but I’m pretty sure it’s there’ as Trampled by Turtles drop a front porch picker in closer, “I Want to Love You”. 
It’s an effort void of the meandering and revved up riffs, a focus on a song series of ballads that are mindful and mellow. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
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​         Flatland Cavalry (from the album Flatland Forever available on Flatland Cavalry/Interscope Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Flatland Cavalry has present for you. Most people may get something when they celebrate a milestone, the Texas/Tennessee-based band making a present just for you as they celebrate their 10-year anniversary with an EP, a best of, and some B-Sides. Flatland Forever is all of that. The laid-back picking party of Roots Rock and jamming are all present in a package of new tunes and alternate versions of cuts from their previous recordings.
The front porch vibe is heavy with dreamy Folk and New-Grass, tracks one and two going back to the 2015 release Come May. Both “No Shade of Green” and “Summertime Love” are loaded with solo’s and harmonies - beautiful. “Three Car Garage” is a new cut, a wonderful love story ready for a singalong that’s flush with flash-fire picking.
The band touches on modern Country with “One I Want” from their Humble Folks release, and another new one with “Lubbock”, the story nodding to the Texas town, both tracks a perfect fit for Indie Folk lovers, but also ready for accessible radio play. Flatland Cavalry namedrop with a nod to perhaps Lubbock’s great musical export, Buddy Holly. 
“Sleeping Alone” from 2019’s Homeland Insecurity is as lonely and sad as the title suggests, beautiful in its simplicity, and “Spinnin’” circles with a sad vibe. One thing this package of 25 cuts tells you is that Flatland Cavalry has knocked out a load of songs that are all good; they walk a fine line between the below-the-radar Indie Roots scene and the ready for the world Country realm, and they’re comfortable with a foot in each. (by Bryant Liggett)
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​Johnny Delaware (from the album Para Llever available on Normaltown Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
Johnny Delaware has made a wanderer’s album. Traveling was a muse in his latest release,Para Llevar, the kind of album that’s ripe for listening as the sun is coming up while you are moving either blasting down a highway, riding the rails. or flying through the air to your destination. This is Singer/Songwriter Folk with World Beat underpinnings, and a Psychedelic vibe Johnny Delaware creates a score for movement, and all the roller coaster emotions adventures paste like stickers on your psyche.
There’s a Gordon Lightfoot feel to Para Llever, ever-present from the get-go in album opener “Jungle Full of Ghosts”; the instrumentation hushed in points as it rises and drifts over the arrangement, his vocals uttered just above a whisper. “Running” delivers that traveling troubadour vibe complete with the sound of a car turning over and the lyrics reminding the listener of motion. “Stubborn Faith” has jam-band guitar riffs in a Western Gospel cut, “Incognita” is a fantastic instrumental that should score your travels through Central and South America while “Never Let Go” is a front-porch picker of a love song delivered with a click-clack locomotive rhythm and layered, but hushed, harmonies. 
The wandering-storyteller in Johnny Delaware couldn’t be more present than in the album closer of “Mexico City Blues” as he drops visual lyrics of places and scenarios from this Mexican metropolis. This is old-school Folk Rock music via on the road narratives that are reminiscent of Beat poets, real life tales written into song, a score for your own personal adventures.  (by Bryant Liggett)
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