​Mary Chapin Carpenter (from the album Personal History available on Lambient Light Records/Thirty Tigers) (by Danny McCloskey)
The album title of Personal History sums up the song topics on the recent release from Mary Chapin Carpenter. She opens the album on soft strums, looking at the life of a traveling musician and asking “What Did You Miss”. The queries blend with the wishes as the two paths merge and separate throughout the course of a lifetime. Using the story as a backdrop, Mary Chapin Carpenter brings the both aspects together singing ‘I’ve been writing it down, song by song, as a personal history’. The album slowly spins the revolving rhythms of “Hello My Name Is”, quieting the chords and adding a sparkle of acoustic notes for the truths of “Home Is a Song” as past scenes are brought back to stage “Paint & Turpentine” and a sturdy backbeat supports the proud defiance of “Bitter Ender”.
Writing songs that are more autobiographical than previous releases, Mary Chapin Carpenter shared a story about her journey of Personal History, stating ‘a novel that I’ve loved for years is My Name is Lucy Barton, written by Elizabeth Strout. There’s this moment where the main character is taking a creative writing course, and her teacher says to her, ‘You will only have one story. You will write your one story in many ways’. I remember reading that line and taking an audible breath. In that moment, I said out loud to no one, ‘Oh, that’s what the songs are’’. 
Produced by Bonny Light Horseman’s Josh Kaufman, and recorded live at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, England, Personal History is the seventeenth album release from the award-winning songwriter. Acoustic finger-picking begins the tale of “Girl and Her Dog” as memories recall the thoughts of a younger mind. Echoey piano notes fall like flakes of snow over the time-worn sway of the band as Mary Chapin Carpenter recalls “The Night We Never Met” while Personal Historyencourages “Say It Anyway” and drifts on a dreamscape melody that remembers the fire of younger days with “New Religion”. A DIY life guide is scripted in the lines of “Coda” as Mary Chapin Carpenter exits Personal History with a story that shows her path against a gentle musical backing that slowly rises underneath the audio journal. (by Danny McCloskey)
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For more information, please visit the Mary Chapin Carpenter website
 

​Ben Kweller (from the album Cover the Mirrors available on The Noise Company) (by Danny McCloskey)
A bright melody surrounds “Oh, Dorian”. The Ben Kweller song, accompanied by M.J. Lenderman, is part of his recent release, Cover the Mirrors. The storyline focuses on his son, Dorian, who passed away in 2023. Rather than a dive into grief, “Oh, Dorian” questions death, making peace with events we cannot change as it looks towards the future. Ben Kweller shared that ‘I took the approach of: I'm actually talking to a really great friend I haven’t seen in a while — and I can’t wait to hang out again. He’s not really gone. I’ll see him again’. For his first album release since the death of his son, the tracks of Cover the Mirrors suggest Ben Kweller has dealt with sorrow by using his talent as a writer.
On the cut “Trapped”, Ben Kweller shuffles memories, admitting ‘I can’t let you go’ as the story works through the how’s of dealing with tragic loss. Dreams become physical as a “Killer Bee” stings a man’s psyche on a tune backed by The Flaming Lips while “Depression”, featuring Coconut Records, needs no accompanying images as the emotional toll described receives the promise ‘a new day is comin’’. A sturdy beat supports the experiences in “Save Yourself” while a revolving rhythm circles “Don’t Cave”. The lyrical flow of “Park Harvey Fire Drill” flies over the frenetic strumming of an acoustic guitar as a demanding beat hammers in the realizations of “Optimystic” while Cover the Mirrors uses an echoey piano ramble to begin the tale of “Going Insane” and a tangle of notes to wrap around “Dollar Store”, featuring Waxahatchee. Catharsis for Ben Kweller translates into a manual for all humans, guiding the path through difficult emotions with an inspiration that uses songs as roadmaps. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen and buy the music of Ben Kweller from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the Ben Kweller website
 

The Shootouts (from the album Switchback on Transoceanic Records/The Shootouts LLC) 
(by Bryant Liggett)
Any ears taking in the latest from The Shootouts will be pleased. An Akron, Ohio-based Roots Rock band, moonlighting as a Soul & R&B outfit, their Rust-Belt credentials are on display with a blue-collar, working-class attitude The sound of Switchback an Americana effort that dips into the Paisley Underground along with some 1980’s era left of the dial Indie Rock. 
Lindsay Lou lends her croon to the opener “Trampoline”, a cut where the twang is traded for a straight-ahead dose of slow-dancing inspired Soul. “The Other Side of My Life” is introduced with power chords before turning into a steady Indie Rocker that continues into the smoking “I’ll Be Damned”, a cut loaded with Boogie piano and aggressive guitar; it’s a ripper. Guitar fans will dig the chicken-pickin’ theatrics of the title track while “Your Love (I’m Afraid)” keeps the Rock’n’Country pace rolling in a Pop package.
As mentioned, The Shootouts drop the Soul. “Only You” is a beautiful Roots/Pop driven by Sam Bush’s mandolin, “Half a World Away” delivers a soulful vibe with its pedal steel guitar offerings, “Just Another Sunday” is ripe for a slow dance, and “Old Memories” is begging to become you and your new-lovers song.
Stacked with guests including the aforementioned along with Vince Gill and Mickey Raphael (among others), Switchback reminds us that Roots music and Americana have no boundaries. (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen and buy the music of The Shootouts from AMAZON
 
Please visit The Shootouts website for more information
 

​Drunken Prayer (from the album Thy Burdens available on Dial Back Sound/Well Kept Secret) (by Bryant Liggett)
The latest from Drunken Prayer is an offering of Cosmic Gospel Music for those souls that have done more sinnin’ than saintin’. A solid collection of Gospel tunes put together in the bible belt, Thy Burdens featuring decades old cuts from the Country and Blues catalogs of Ralph Stanley, Hank Williams, Odetta, and then some, along with more from the public domain. 
These cuts are loose, rambling, and rough around the edges; “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” delivered with an intoxicated shuffle, while “Rock of Ages” has a very deliberate and driving march to the rhythm. “Bedside of a Neighbor” is delightful, hip, and catchy, “Tramp on the Street” and “Soldier of the Cross” both crawl along as they ooze sadness, the horns on both making them ripe for driving a slow-paced second line. Album closer, “Thy Burden is Greater Than Mine”, is a stripped down and lonely. 
The idea and recording of Thy Burdens was recorded by Drunken Prayers aka Morgan Geer, along with Bobby Matt Patton from the Drive-By Truckers, who also finds himself on both sides of the console at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi. With every tune laid back in its delivery, the casualness of this recording is an integral part of the whole sound. This is another killer release from Patton’s studio, a location that serves as fitting ground for a collection of tunes celebrating redemption, ripe for those begging forgiveness as they move toward the light. (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen and buy the music of Drunken Prayer from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the Drunken Prayer website
 

​Peter Rowan (from album Tales of the Free Mexican Airforce available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Progressive Bluegrass legend Peter Rowan returns with a new album, Tales of the Free Mexican Airforce. The album title refers to the story in the track “Free Mexican Airforce”, a track written by Peter Rowan, and on the Flaco Jimenez 1988 album Flaco’s Amigos. Flaco Jimenez guests on the recent release as well as Max Baca, with Ray Wylie Hubbard lending vocals for “I’m Gonna Love You Like There’s No Tomorrow”. Tales of the Free Mexican Airforce celebrates the music of the Southwest; border songs that capture the sound of cantina’s, Texas honky tonks, and backyard parties.
 
Peter Rowan began playing in Tex-Mex and Folk bands while in high school, joining Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys in 1964. He joined Dave Grisman in the progressive Folk Rock band Earth Opera in 1967, moving to San Francisco and joining Seatrain, a Bluegrass/Rock band for two albums. He left to form Old and in the Way with Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman before joining with his brothers, Chris and Lorin, in the progressive Bluegrass outfit, The Rowan Brothers. Performing as a solo act since the 1980’s, Peter Rowan forged a path for Indie music as he expanded on the borders of Bluegrass music.
 
He introduces Moonshine Sally on a trip through “Alligator Alley” as Tales of the Free Mexican Airforce spins a reel for a sympathetic border guard in “Mississippi California” and rides a low rumble up the 101 towards Mendocino with “Sunset Eyes”. Traditional Tex-Mex sounds can be heard throughout the album in “Cancion Mixteca”, “Bonita Senorita”, and “Maria Elena” as Peter Rowan updates the genre without diminishing its natural joy with “Valentina” and “Un Beso”. “Free Mexican Air Force” relates a story of the sky as Peter Rowan tells a tale of refugees in “Oh Liberty” and takes a walk through after-dark San Antonio with “Moonlight Midnight”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the Peter Rowan website
 

My Politic (from album Signs of Life as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Bright acoustic guitar sparkle like stars in a night sky as My Politic check the weather and time for “Two in the Morning”, the cut that opens the recent release from the Indie Folk duo, Signs of Life. Carefully walking the line between personal and universal, the album questions the future (“Will We Ever Make It Out of Heaven”), balances the past and present (“Still Growing Today”), ponders a lifetime of beliefs (“Drifting Around the Ocean”), and assesses the path that our lives take (“A Funny Place to Find Yourself”).
 
The pair (Kaston Guffey and Nick Pankey) explain their mission statement on the caffeinated rhythms of the title track, stating that ‘maybe I'm doing alright. It's so hard to tell what's true sometimes. Maybe I'm doing alright. Out here searching for signs of life’.  After growing up together in the Ozarks, My Politic have been searching for versions of the truth over fifteen years as a band and ten album releases. The signature sound of My Politic is acoustic guitar strums and rich harmonies. My Politic admit ‘I hardly write sad songs in minor keys’ as they lay out their own truths with “No Other Way” while they relate to the people and world around them for “Living Lean”. Signs of Life listens to hopes with “Who Could Ask for More” and quietly witnesses our day to day lives in “The Lonely 21stCentury”. My Politic sing of endings for “I Took All the Pictures Down”, presenting an overview of the world as it stands with “From the Early Days” and exit the album claiming “I’d Rather Have Some”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the My Politic Instagram
​

​TajMo – Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal (from album Room on the Porch available on Concord Records) (Bryant Liggett)
 
The partnership, and subsequent collaborations, between Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. (Taj Mahal) and Kevin Roosevelt Moore (Keb’ Mo’) are a Roots Music match from heaven. Take the musical reference away and you’d think that’s a nod to independent film-makers, yet when using the stage names of Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ you know that pairing will drop the best in traditionally defined Americana. Their latest release, Room on the Porch, is, on the surface, Blues, yet the songs shift the styles, swinging toward Country and Folk with soulful groove.
 
The release kicks off with a soft sway via the title track, both vets trading verses along with Ruby Amanfu on a cut that invites you to a front porch with plenty of space for everyone.
“She Keeps me Moving” is laid back with great fills and thick background harmonies, “Make Up Your Mind” is animated if not playful, and “Junkyard Dog” comes with quiet riffs while also displaying subtle grit.
 
The album closer, “Rough Time Blues”, finds these veterans nodding to their musical foundations and the Blues past, laying down the utmost in stripped down and traditional blues. Room on the Porch comes from Keb’ Mo’, who is 73, and Taj Mahal, a decade older. That tones and textures of the album stand testament to the graceful aging of two men still managing their day jobs with a warm and inviting passion. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Listen and buy the music of TajMo – Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit the TajMo website
 

​Watchhouse (from the album Rituals available on Tiptoe Tiger Music/Thirty Tigers) (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz pleased the ear as Mandolin Orange, and are equally appealing as Watchhouse. In their 16 years and nine album career Watchhouse have dropped catchy albums ensconced in Indie Folk while kicking around the festival circuit. The latest from the pair, Rituals, favors Folk music, while the duo ventures into exploratory and ambient desert noir as well as Laurel Canyon-Esque Soft Rock. 
 
Cuts like “Shape”, “Beyond Meaning”, and “Fireflight” feature key elements that have defined the Watchhouse sound since day one, featuring instrumental and song structure minimalism, one voice supporting the other with that vocal input doubled-up as Frantz’s turn at the microphone is layered on the latter cut.
 
“All Around You” has a playful bounce and subtle reverb that decorates the ‘ooh-oohs’ as Watchhouse sing of surroundings while working toward an end. The Rituals title track dips into a Root/Soul realm and “In the Sun” features meandering Psychedelic guitar work that lives within layers of other stringed instruments, drifting and exploring a NewGrass vibe.
“Endless Highway (Pt. 1)” continues those jam hints as it moves into “Sway/Endless Highway (Pt. 2)” showing Watchhouse isn’t afraid to throw themselves, and their listeners, a musical curveball. 
 
The album closer, “Patterns”, is a nod to traditional Bluegrass; a mandolin picked in Bill Monroe fashion before those vocals come in high and lonesome. Watchhouse are in a good place; comfortably curating the sound that fans have come to expect yet also offering a new and unexplored route, unafraid to take us along for the ride. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Listen and buy the music of Watchhouse from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the Watchhouse website
 

​Dave Goddess Group (from E.P. Kitty Hawk on Emotional Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Trends are like ocean tides, particularly in musical endeavors. In the 1970/1980’s heyday of Rock radio, the core of the song roster was inspirational Rock. Music that offered a DIY guide through troubling moments and championed success. The cuts created a community that was connected by the songs on the radio. Much of that musical output became relegated to Classic Rock categories, morphing into Dad Rock circa 2025. Those definitions are the closest that style of song has ever come to a clear-cut meaning outside of the equally generic Rock/Pop. In today’s musical medium there is a core of artists that hear the words and music of those tracks as templates for song structure. Dave Goddess channels his own version of those musical moments with his recent E.P. release, Kitty Hawk. He hears the individuality of the artists, realizing that ‘they’re all unique, but I admire the straightforward simplicity of their music. I soak in the influences and filter them through my own off-kilter brain. In the end you realize that the most unique thing you have to offer is yourself’’.
 
The E.P. kicks off with a jangle when Dave Goddess Group tells the tale of the woman in the “Tin Foil Hat”. The beat of the cut gallops into Kitty Hawk, setting the standard for the songs on the release to catch air. A collection of stories staged in song, Dave Goddess Group create a rumble for the walk through the life of a small-town man stuck in his beliefs with “Someone Worth Waiting For” while an atmospheric pedal steel guitar fills the air of a Mexicali night as background for the sway of “Wild and Willing”. 
 
The defiance that pushes the pen of Dave Goddess frames the stories in Kitty Hawk. The music is a soundtrack of vintage influences while the words are narratives of contemporary trials and tribulations. Waving “Pretty Soon It’ll Be Too Late” like a flag that leads a charge against the mediocrity of settling Kitty Hawk shouts “Hey Romeo” over a Rock’n’Roll beat as Dave Goddess Group send out a Country Rock love letter signed “Lucky Guy”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Listen and buy the music of Dave Goddess Group from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit the Dave Goddess Group website
 

​Jeffrey Broussard & The Nighttime Syndicate (from album Bayou Moonlight on Fairground Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
The Nighttime Syndicate grew from a one-off session when Jeffrey Broussard recorded a tune with Sabertooth Swing Band. Magic happened, and Jeffrey Broussard enlisted the Sabertooth Swing rhythm section along with Zach Wiggins on keyboards adding a horn section from the TBC Brass Band to hop on board. After a series of singles, Jeffrey Broussard & the Nighttime Syndicate release the debut, Bayou Moonlight, using the recordings as a vehicle to promote the diversity of New Orleans music as they back the songs with elements of Zydeco, R&B, back country Cajun, Dixieland Jazz, and a variety of other native NOLA sounds. 
 
Opening Bayou Moonlight on a bounce, the band encourage listeners to ‘sit back and relax’ and ‘listen to the great, great sounds of Zydeco’ for “Whatever” while Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph makes a plea for love, with a mighty saxophone at her back, in the “Richest Man” duet. The Nighttime Syndicate make a beat for feet to stomp out “Roaches”, bidding “Hello Baby’, along with Anna Moss, on heavy accordion breaths, as they walk a slow trudge promising “I’m Coming Home”, using Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me” as an additive. They return to the Sam Cooke catalog for a true-to-source version of “A Change is Gonna Come”, reimagined with the group’s signature style of Zydeco. Boogieing in the Bayou Moonlight, Jeffrey Broussard & The Nighttime Syndicate lead a conga line to the dance floor with “Swing”, returning to a Cajun sway for “Aww, Baby” and put a marching rhythm underneath “No Good Woman”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Listen and buy the music of Jeffrey Broussard & The Nighttime Syndicate from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit the Jeffrey Broussard & The Nighttime Syndicate website