​AJ Lee & Blue Summit (from the album City of Glass available on AJ Lee & Blue Summit/Signature Sounds Recordings)
Adding the sonic bounty of West Coast sounds and California Folk, AJ Lee & Blue Summit blend elements and touches of Bluegrass, Country Blues, Rock-loving rhythms, Americana, and Folk Rock into a heady brew of rhythms and intuitive jams on City of Glass, their latest release. A cover of Harlan Howard’s “He Called Me Baby” leans heavily into the Blues side of Bluegrass as a powerful backbeat sparks dancing feet for the title track while City of Glasstaps its foot to “Toys” and quiets to a hush for the reverie of “I Still Think of Her”. AJ Lee & Blue Summit guide the diversity of sound confidently on the album, the band a musical thread connecting the rhythms and rhymes.
 
Based in Santa Cruz, California, AJ Lee & Blue Summit met as teenagers for jams at Bluegrass Festivals in Northern California. The quartet (AJ Lee – mandolin, Sullivan Tuttle (guitar), Scott Gates (guitar), Jan Purat (fiddle)) dedicate City of Glass to their home state California. The sing of Kern County with “Bakersfield Clay”, strum the memories of farm country for “Bedside Window”, and are joined by Rainbow Girls for nod to their beach homebase in “Seaside Town”. Guests for the recording created a family reunion when Molly Tuttle stopped by the studio lending vocals to “I Can’t Find You at All”, a tune written by the siblings dad, Jack Tuttle. For the song, Jack Tuttle shared that ‘after working a bit on lyrics for my daughter Molly’s unfinished song called ‘Don’t Try to Find Me’, I decided to flip the script and write one from the other viewpoint. I guess, in modern parlance, it’s a song about being ghosted’. Produced by Lech Wierzynski (The California Honeydrops), City of Glassshowcases AJ Lee & Blue Summit as a melting pot of Golden State sounds, opening on the echo of Celtic tones with “Hillside”, kicking up saw dust for the honky tonk beat of “Solicitor Man”, and exiting on the tender touch of “All I Know”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the AJ Lee & Blue Summit website
 

​MohaviSoul (from the album Encore available on Mannequin Vanity Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
Kicking open the doors of Encore with a healthy blast of fast-track beats and resolution-sourcing inspiration, MohaviSoul begin the song cycle for the recent release with “Shine Like Stars”. The dance floor spins in slow, sad circles for the sluggish feet moving to a “Broken Heart Waltz” while a cover of The Rolling Stones “No Expectations” fires up a rhythm fueled by frenetic playing from the banjo and fiddle. Picking out a string band symphony in Southern California, MohaviSoul recorded Encore at Studio West in San Diego, California with Ryan Finch. The album balances MohaviSoul originals with recording of live performance fan-favorite covers, including an assured version of Tyler Childers “White House Road”.
Country Folk backs the optimism that pours from “Seeing Signs” as MohaviSoul put check marks in the good times column of life, encouraging the world to take a moment to appreciate life’s gifts that come our way in “The Other Side”. A hearty rhythm propels the “Ghost Train” on its nightly journey as the current of the Rio Grande provides the sway for “High Water” and its tale of seeking freedom while MohaviSoul keep on the “Right Side of the Grass” with a determined groove and re-work Jesse Fuller’s 1958 Country & Western prison ballad “Ninety-Nine Years”. (by Danny McCloskey)  
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For more information, please visit the MohaviSoul website
 

MohaviSoul (from the album Encore available on Mannequin Vanity Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
Kicking open the doors of Encore with a healthy blast of fast-track beats and resolution-sourcing inspiration, MohaviSoul begin the song cycle for the recent release with “Shine Like Stars”. The dance floor spins in slow, sad circles for the sluggish feet moving to a “Broken Heart Waltz” while a cover of The Rolling Stones “No Expectations” fires up a rhythm fueled by frenetic playing from the banjo and fiddle. Picking out a string band symphony in Southern California, MohaviSoul recorded Encore at Studio West in San Diego, California with Ryan Finch. The album balances MohaviSoul originals with recording of live performance fan-favorite covers, including an assured version of Tyler Childers “White House Road”.
Country Folk backs the optimism that pours from “Seeing Signs” as MohaviSoul put check marks in the good times column of life, encouraging the world to take a moment to appreciate life’s gifts that come our way in “The Other Side”. A hearty rhythm propels the “Ghost Train” on its nightly journey as the current of the Rio Grande provides the sway for “High Water” and its tale of seeking freedom while MohaviSoul keep on the “Right Side of the Grass” with a determined groove and re-work Jesse Fuller’s 1958 Country & Western prison ballad “Ninety-Nine Years”. (by Danny McCloskey)  
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For more information, please visit the MohaviSoul website


 AJ Lee & Blue Summit (from the album City of Glass available on AJ Lee & Blue Summit/Signature Sounds Recordings)
Adding the sonic bounty of West Coast sounds and California Folk, AJ Lee & Blue Summit blend elements and touches of Bluegrass, Country Blues, Rock-loving rhythms, Americana, and Folk Rock into a heady brew of rhythms and intuitive jams on City of Glass, their latest release. A cover of Harlan Howard’s “He Called Me Baby” leans heavily into the Blues side of Bluegrass as a powerful backbeat sparks dancing feet for the title track while City of Glasstaps its foot to “Toys” and quiets to a hush for the reverie of “I Still Think of Her”. AJ Lee & Blue Summit guide the diversity of sound confidently on the album, the band a musical thread connecting the rhythms and rhymes.
 
Based in Santa Cruz, California, AJ Lee & Blue Summit met as teenagers for jams at Bluegrass Festivals in Northern California. The quartet (AJ Lee – mandolin, Sullivan Tuttle (guitar), Scott Gates (guitar), Jan Purat (fiddle)) dedicate City of Glass to their home state California. The sing of Kern County with “Bakersfield Clay”, strum the memories of farm country for “Bedside Window”, and are joined by Rainbow Girls for nod to their beach homebase in “Seaside Town”. Guests for the recording created a family reunion when Molly Tuttle stopped by the studio lending vocals to “I Can’t Find You at All”, a tune written by the siblings dad, Jack Tuttle. For the song, Jack Tuttle shared that ‘after working a bit on lyrics for my daughter Molly’s unfinished song called ‘Don’t Try to Find Me’, I decided to flip the script and write one from the other viewpoint. I guess, in modern parlance, it’s a song about being ghosted’. Produced by Lech Wierzynski (The California Honeydrops), City of Glassshowcases AJ Lee & Blue Summit as a melting pot of Golden State sounds, opening on the echo of Celtic tones with “Hillside”, kicking up saw dust for the honky tonk beat of “Solicitor Man”, and exiting on the tender touch of “All I Know”. (by Danny McCloskey) 
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For more information, please visit the AJ Lee & Blue Summit website


MJ Lenderman (from the album Manning Fireworks available on Anti- Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
Slow sluggish acoustic guitar notes walk beside MJ Lenderman into his recent release, Manning Fireworks. The title track opens the album, the pace of the plucked guitar string cadence alongside vocals that match the slow steps. With several solo releases, MJ Lenderman (Jake Lenderman) delivers the song on Manning Fireworks carefully. Nothing is rushed. The tempos are tempered, the beat decelerated. Even amid the power chords of “Wristwatch”, the overall feeling in his presentation remains nearly sensual in its rhythmic touches. Folk Rock for 2025 is the style selection for Manning Fireworks, MJ Lenderman strumming for a campfire singalong in “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In”, as he walks with heavy strides across “Joker Lips”, crunches electric chords for the Rock’n’Roll strut of “On My Knees”, and blends the sounds of “Bark at the Moon” into a seductive groove before closing out with trace-inducing sonics as it closes out the album.
 
Based in Ashville, North Carolina the 25-year-old songwriter has releases under both MJ Lenderman and Jake Lenderman as well as playing with Alternative Rock outfit, Wednesday.  In addition to his own release, he contributed guitar and vocals to Waxahatchee’s Tiger’s Blood album. Manning Fireworks uses heavy footstomps and pedal steel twang to introduce “Rudolph” while MJ Lenderman layers the instruments, building into a roller coaster rhythms, tredding softly before rising up with a sonic blast for “She’s Leaving You”. (by Danny McCloskey) 
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For more information, please visit the MJ Lenderman website
 
Ringo Starr (from the album Look Up available on Roccabella Records/UMG) (by Brian Rock)
Ringo Starr brings his inimitable star power to the Country genre on his new album, Look Up. Despite his Rock’n’Roll pedigree, Ringo has always had a love for Country music, as evidenced by his cover of Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” and especially his 1970 Country album, Beaucoups of Blues. Staying true to the golden age of Country, Ringo brings his charm and wit (and several guest artists including Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and T Bone Burnett, who produced the album), to these songs of love, loss, and occasional levity.
“You Want Some” finds Ringo in an amorous mood. A walking bass line and weepy pedal steel introduce the song as the band evokes the feel of a Texas roadhouse. Ringo taking the microphone to sing ‘I’ve got love to give. Baby, that’s better than none. You want some?’. His trademark wit and humor shine through as the band kicks up a rousing Western Swing with plenty of steel guitar and rollicking ragtime piano. Ringo’s drumming holds all the pieces together. His drumming, like his vocals, exudes a casual cool that’s neither forced nor contrived. He takes a page from Bob Wills and makes it flirty and fun. 
Ringo goes full Sons of the Pioneers on “Come Back”. An authentic range-riding, campfire-crooning Country & Western ballad where Ringo is joined by Lucius for a tender ode to a distant lover. Yearning for her return, he sings ‘when you go away as night turns into day, I walk alone and feel you gone.” A meandering acoustic guitar and a humming background chorus capture the feel of a gentle breeze blowing across the Great Plains, mountain ranges, and the Southwest desert. Sincere and direct, his vocals and lyrics express the naked truth. No philosophical metaphors, nor flowery poetic devices; he says exactly what any of us would say in a similar situation, if only we had the courage to express it. That earnestness serves him well on the tender ballad, “Time 0n My Hands”. With a generous helping of pedal steel, Ringo moans ‘I used to have a true love, everything was fine. But now she’s found a new love, she’s no longer mine… Now these arms are empty and I’ve got time on my hands’. Again, Ringo’s voice conveys an everyman quality of warmth and vulnerability. “I Live for Your Love” explores the happier moments of love in gentle Countrypolitan tones. Ringo combines West Coast Folk with Country on the cheery “Never Let Me Go”. Harmonica and a staccato drumbeat punctuate his devotion as he coos ‘when you call my name I will be there. If you want me, I won’t go anywhere”. The optimistic “Look Up” incorporates Cosmic Cowboy soundscapes to encourage us to find the silver lining in life’s darker moments. “Rosetta” combines the same Cosmic Cowboy, joining with Billy Strings and Larkin Poe to blend elements of Bluegrass to mourn a lost lover. The Bluegrass touch again comes to the fore in the lovely declaration of devotion, “Can You Hear Me Call”; Molly Tuttle singing counterpoint with Ringo to assure the feelings are mutual. Ringo pays tribute to Carl Perkins and the original Country Rock pioneers as he is joined by Billy Strings on the Rockabilly-tinged T-Bone Burnett original, “Breathless”. Rounding out the set, Ringo Starr duets with Alison Krauss on the tender, Bakersfield influenced, “Thankful”. Paying tribute with an homage to someone special in his life, Ringo sings ‘I’m thankful for the stars above, hoping for more peace and love… Thankful for this moment here. And thankful you are here’. “Peace and Love” is, of course, Ringo Starr’s trademark salutation; so, we can indeed, all be thankful for a little more of Mr. Peace and Love in our lives. (by Brian Rock)
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For more information, please visit the Ringo Starr website
 
 

 ​Yonder Mountain String Band (from the album Nowhere Next available on Frog Pad Records/Thirty Tigers) (by Bryant Liggett)
The passage of time playing performing and recording hasn’t slowed down Yonder Mountain String Band. As they push past a quarter century as a band, whether on stage or in studio, they keep a foot down on the gas pedal. Their latest release, Nowhere Next shows maturity while still staying true to the NuGrass genre; they remain a band with limitless influences on a path that finds them moving string band music fast and forward to another level. 
The album opener in “The Truth Fits”  has that typical Jam Band-Grass drive, banjo player Dave Johnston leading the charge from the first solo, and that aforementioned ‘fast and forward’ description couldn’t be more present than on the cut “Cruisin’”. “Didn’t Go Wrong” starts with an Outlaw Country riff before Adam Aijala adds repetitive, Prog-Rock acoustic guitar while Ben Kaufmanns scats vocals; call it Prog-Boogie. This reviewer has always loved the songs of Johnston, and “Leave the Midwest” continues that fandom. Dave Johnston’s croon always homey and warm, this is a tale of leaving your home to head-west and make dreams into a new life; a front-porch sing-along that’s a straight-ahead song, the instrumentation solid but not theatrical, as Yonder Mountain String Band play it straight and true.
While this band has certainly toyed with other genres, they’ve always had their heart in Bluegrass, “Secondhand Smoke” nodding to that love. With plenty of boogie and plenty of jam, longtime fans will revel in this Yonder Mountain String Band release, as it has all of the elements that made you fall for this band back in 2000. (by Bryant Liggett)
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For more information, please visit the Yonder Mountain String Band website

Kasey Chambers (from the album Backbone available on Essence Music) (by Danny McCloskey)
Over soft Country Rock chords, Kasey Chambers lets her voice rise above in Soul shouts for “A New Day Has Come”, the opening track for her recent release, Backbone. As genres come and go, Kasey Chambers has successfully navigated all styles shifts with the power of her voice as the driving wheel. Her ability to emotionally charge vocals to fit the narrative is present in equal measure to her 1999 debut, The Captain, and her break-through 2002 release, Brickwalls and Barricades. Backbone shares its title with “Backbone (The Desert Child)”, the song strumming scratchy Australian grit into chords as Kasey Chambers raises her voice in harmony to enter the dark rhythms of “Dart N Feather”, quiets to a hush becoming “Silverado Girl”, and riding a shuffle-on-steroids beat to back “Take Me Down the Mountain”.
 
A healthy spinning wheel of Australian Americana packs Backbone with a hefty fifteen tracks, including a banjo reverie to begin the live version of Kasey Chambers covering Eminem with “Lose Yourself”, the sonics layering electric guitar before blasting open with an arena worthy Rock’n’Roll struts. Guitar sparkle surrounds the wishes of “A Love Like Springsteen” while a honky tonk slow dance pushes the promises of “For Better or Worse” as Backbone lets voices and a lone guitar be the bed for “My Kingdom Comes” while Kasey Chambers asks for directions and guidance in “Broken Cup”, as she relates a fairy tale over a Back Alley Jazz beat with “Little Red Riding Hood”, and follows a hammering righteous rhythmic march into the Rock Gospel of “Something to Believe In”. (by Danny McCloskey) 
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For more information, please visit the Kasey Chambers website
 

 

​Lucinda Williams (from the album Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles from Abbey Road on Highway 20 Records) (by Lee Zimmerman) 
With a career that stretches back some 45 years, and includes any number of classic recordings — her eponymous third album (which yielded her oft-covered standard “Passionate Kisses”), Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Sweet Old World, Essence, This Sweet Old World, and her last offering, the descriptively titled Stories From a Rock and Roll Heart (based on her memoir of the same name), it’s safe to say that no female artist other than Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton ranks higher on the Americana pantheon than Lucinda Williams. With three Grammy Awards and some 17 Grammy nominations, two Americana Music Awards, a proclamation by Time magazine citing her as ‘America’s best songwriter’, a listing by VH1 as one of the ‘100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll’, and an Honorary Doctorate of Music degree from the Berkeley College of Music, her storied stature has not only been earned, but acknowledged as well. 
Nevertheless, Lucinda Williams has never been shy about acknowledging her influences. Her series of classic covers albums, Lu’s Jukebox, has, up until now, consisted of efforts dedicated to the music of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. However, Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles from Abbey Road provides a certain distinction, given that that its twelve songs were actually recorded in the same studio that provided the setting for the vast majority of the seminal recording sessions. 
Naturally, however, any attempt to cover the Beatles’ music brings a certain risk. No one, no matter how skilled or savvy they may be, can ever hope to compete with the iconic originals. Even when allowing for a distinctive spin, any possibility for positive comparison is often limited from the get-go.

In this case, with help from producers Ray Kennedy & Tom Overby alongside her regular backing band — Butch Norton (drums), David Sutton (bass) and Doug Pettibone (guitars and backing vocals) — as well as Marc Ford on guitars, Richard Carson on keys, and Siobhan M. Kennedy contributing backing vocals, Williams takes no chances. For the most part, she doesn’t veer from the archetypical arrangements, and yet, at the same time, she also manages to infuse her own identity and imprint as well. The Lennon songs in particular — “Don’t Let Me Down”, “Yer Blues”, and “I’m So Tired” are given a certain edge and angst that neatly complements the initial attitude and intent. So too, she clearly conveys the erstwhile emotion that originated with “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Let It Be”, “Something”, and “The Long and Winding Road”, even while ensuring the sentiment would still sound sincere.
The only time she veers from the template, as on “With a Little Help from My Friends”, she chooses to echo Joe Cocker’s rendition without real regard for the Ringo read.
Ultimately then, Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles from Abbey Road is best seen as Williams’ love letter to her idols, rather than any attempt to undermine the originals. Given that devotion, the sensitivity and sincerity clearly shine through. (by Lee Zimmerman)
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For more information, please visit the Lucinda Williams website
 

​Nick Lowe (from the album Love Safari available on Yep Roc Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
Los Straightjackets are the perfect backing band. Perfect because they can play just about anything, especially Surf and Garage Rock, or Roots influenced R&B. Thus, putting them in the backing role of a New Wave, Power Pop god who is a soulful dude is that unmatched pairing. And there you have Nick Lowe leading Los Straitjackets on his latest release Love Safari. 
They’re a house band opening with a festive song in “Went to a Party”, Los Straitjackets throwing in jangle and Surf Rock reverb; it’s all so loose and all so tight.  “Love Starvation” is pure Pop served up in super glory, while “A Quiet Place” is a cut where Wolfman Jack’s intro would not be out of place, as its radio ripe from 1958.  There’s Rockabilly via “Tokyo Bay”, a Soul-laden Nick Lowe croon-heavy cut (“Trombone”) and Cocktail Lounge tones on full display in “Different Kind of Blue”.
Nick Lowe has always been Rock’n’Roll cool, not in an outlaw way but in the ‘I’m a solid songwriter and timeless musician’ style. Never a one-trick pony yet also nearly unknown by the Classic Rock crowd, he’s a solid musician that’s both throwback and 21st Century and Indie-awesome. The match-up with Los Straitjackets is takes a Rock band well versed in every style, pairing them with a Singer/Songwriter that’s the same. Digging into this record is a full earful of sounds that represent Rock’n’Roll from 1958 to 2025.  (by Bryant Liggett)
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For more information, please visit the Nick Lowe website
 

​Father John Misty (from the album Mahashmashana available on SubPop Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
Joshua Michael Tillman, who operates under the ubiquitous handle of Father John Misty, might seem a somewhat elusive character, courtesy of a sardonic lyrical style and a musical approach that can easily veer from quirky Power Pop to a Nu-Folk regimen. Having originally gained his start as the drummer for Fleet Foxes, he went on to release eight albums under his birth name and another six under his adopted aegis over the course of the past dozen years. In the process, each became more exploratory and adventurous than the effort that came before. In addition, he’s toured as a hired hand for any number of other outfits, and, as a producer, has overseen albums by such stellar stars as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, and Madonna.
Happily, though, Tillman/Misty has never been content to simply sit behind the boards, and as the furtive Father’s new album, Mahashmasha, so ably demonstrates, his craft and creativity constantly cradle his output. While the title track opens the album with a majestic pomp and flourish, the other efforts that follow find him shifting his stance, from the click-clack rhythms of the tellingly-titled “John Tillman and the Accidental Dose” and the disco-centric “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools Of Us All” to the sweeping ballads “Mental Health” and “Summer’s Gone” as well as the solitary-sounding “Screamland”. 
Yet if the song titles hint at some unsettling underbelly, it’s the mystique not menace that takes center stage. That despite the fact that the word “Mahashmashana” means ‘cremation ground, all things put going thither’. Yet while the lyrics often sound as if they were sewn by a Dylan combine with the thoughtful musings of, say, a Paul Kelly or the imaginative story-telling of a Robyn Hitchcock, they find common ground in these grand and often over-the-top designs, Father John Misty remains his own man, an artist whose work fiercely defies any singular category or confines. His music is the product of sonic exploration and a fearless desire and determination to carve his own particular palette, regardless of the expectations of others.
In that regard, Mahashmasha, like each of the free-spirited releases that preceded it, is a spiritual statement that never needs to bypass an essential eloquence and emotion as well. It is, in short, another fine example of the craft and creativity the good Father freely offers his flock.  (by Lee Zimmerman)
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For more information, please visit the Father John Misty website
 

​Eric Brace & Last Train Home (from the E.P. Used Songs for Sale available on Red Beet Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
Becoming musical magicians, Eric Brace & Last Train Home have taken three band-favorite tracks, releasing a trio of tunes on the recent E.P., Used Songs for Sale. Eric’s East Nashville neighbor, RobinAugust, steps to the microphone for a cover of Tommy Keene’s “Places That Are Gone”. Used Songs for Sale offers a true-to-the original-version of The Bee Gees 1967 hit “To Love Somebody” while Eric Brace and Last Train Home dapple the cut with Country Soul, adding roof-reaching guitar leads, warm horns, and the natural emotion of Eric Brace’s vocals.
 
The beginnings of Last Train Home were sparked in the Washington, D.C., so it was fitting the band was asked to play a tribute to the legendary D.C.-area venue, The Cellar Door. A list of performers that had been on stage at The Cellar Door was offered for reference, and of the four-song selection chosen for the night, Graham Parker’s version of The Trammps “Hold Back the Night” made the setlist for Last Train Home. Eric Brace and Last Train Home made the decision to put their mark on the track for eternity, including it on the Used Songs for Sale E.P. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the Eric Brace & Last Train Home website
 

​Ben Chapman (from the album Downbeat available on Hippie Shack Records) (by Brian Rock)
Nashville Singer/Songwriter Ben Chapman gets down on his debut album, Downbeat. The well-respected songwriter (with cuts by Shelby Lynne, Flatland Cavalry, The Steel Woods, and others,) finally steps from the sidelines into the spotlight. With a unique style that’s equal parts Guy Clark, Lowell George, and Chirs Robinson, Ben Chapman creates funky, down-home music that’s ideal for singing, stomping, or sipping along with on your back porch.
A walking bass line introduces the title track as Chapman sings ‘this place gets scary after dark’. Describing the kind of dive bar where newcomers are definitely not welcome, he adds, ‘I’m breaking a sweat and it ain’t even warm’. The sense of foreboding is finally broken with the arrival of Hammond organ and funky lead guitar licks as he declares, ‘when the downbeat comes everything’s alright’. Suddenly, the bikers and brawlers forget their tension and look to the band. From his vantage point on the stage, Chapman witnesses firsthand the power of music to bring people together. His mellow, Southern-Fried Funk is a calming balm for troubled souls.
“Baby Don’t Cry, It’s Saturday Night” offers a Cosmic Cowboy/Grateful Dead word of encouragement for the despondent. Ben Chapman reminds us that for every rainy day, there’s a day of sunshine, and for every Monday life brings there’s also a Saturday to unwind. Summarizing, he sings ‘if things ain’t lookin’ up, you might as well get down’. “If I Was You” leans into Lenny Kravitz-style heavy Funk to advise his lover she’d probably be better off without him. “America’s Sweetheart” uses Heartland Rock rhythms to tell the story of a heartland dreamer who ends up destitute on the streets of L.A. when her dreams fall through. Channeling his inner Lowell George, Ben Chapman sings a funky road Blues on “Almost Home”. Recounting the tribulations of life on the road, he moans ‘pick up a guitar, hope it’s in tune. Life ain’t nothing but the 12-bar Blues. Halfway broke from paying my dues, I’m trying like hell to get back to you’. Hoping for a different outcome than the subject of his pervious tune, he reminds us how much musicians give up to share their dream with the world.
Slowing the pace, Ben Chapman brings a poignant and personal tone to his ballads. “Temporary High” continues chronicling the hardships of life on the road. Weary from the grind, he admits ‘the gold is losing its glitter’. Trying to offset the toll of the road, he tries alcohol and Adderall, but the weepy pedal steel betrays the truth that ‘there’s no kinda low like a temporary high’. “Finish What You Started” is a organ-tinged, heart wrenching plea to ‘don’t leave me half broken hearted’. “Star of Monterrey” is a bittersweet, Cosmic Cowboy ode to an enigmatic lover who ‘comes and goes like the seasons’. Paying tribute to one of his influences, he does a faithful cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You”. Combining Country, Folk, and Rock, Ben Chapman shares a tender declaration of love on “Don’t You Dare”. Singing ‘I got to wonderin’ who I am if I’m not yours’ he confesses the depth of his entanglement with his lover. Showing his vulnerability, he sings ‘I ain’t going anywhere. So, if you’re thinking ‘bout breaking my heart, don’t you dare’. Singing about love, life on the road, and living your dream, Ben Chapman shares life’s adventures with the casual ease of an old friend sharing stories after being away for too long. (by Brian Rock)
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For more information, please visit Ben Chapman website
 

Chuck Prophet with Qiensave (from the album Wake the Dead available on Yep Roc Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
Chuck Prophet is making pals in Central California. Makes sense as he’s a California musician, from his beginnings in Green on Red in Los Angeles, to spending much of the past decades in San Francisco. He’s been spinning a lot of Cumbia music as personal and medicinal listening, and a meeting with Cumbia band Qiensave out of Salinas, CA (a town he’s likely driven by a few hundred times) fostered a fertile musical meeting. The results of the get-together is Wake The Dead, a solid combination of uplifting Cumbia and American Roots Rock. 
The title track album opener is a warm invitation into an unlikely combo, a spot where Latin dance rhythms are right in place with Prophet’s subtle yet more familiar mix of Country and Psychedelic Folk; it’s a wonderful pairing. “Betty’s Song” has a dramatic opening that quickly drifts into reverb-heavy, Surf Rock guitar with hints of Dub Reggae, a stand by your side love song that sings ‘if ever you’re in trouble honey, I’m in trouble too’. “Give the Boy a Kiss” teases hop-a-long Country, “Sally Was a Dancer” is ready for 1970’s FM Rock radio, and “Red Sky Night”, with Prophet’s ‘Sha La La’s’ begs for listeners to take on a slow dance. “Sugar in the Water” has late 50’s Pop elements, from its bouncy keys to its bopping rhythm, a cut that’s infectious and fun, and the closer in “It’s a Good Day to Be Alive” is a hopeful celebration of all good things and all good days.
Prophet’s thrown a curve-ball, as fans likely didn’t see a fringe member of the Paisley Underground throwing out a Cumbia jam. It works, however, and Chuck Prophet’s sleepy drawl sounds right at home over danceable grooves, proof again that Americana is, will, and should come from all of the America’s. (by Bryant Liggett)
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For more information, please visit the Chuck Prophet and Qiensave websites
 

​The Coward Brothers (Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett) (from the album The Coward Brothers available on New West Records) (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
Like The Traveling Wilburys, the fictitious band of brothers who provided the aegis for the super group consisting of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty, The Coward Brothers are a nom-de-plume for Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett, outstanding artists each in his own right. They play the part on both stage and in the studio, subverting their actual identities in order to carry on their covert guise. The result is an eponymous album that boasts elements of each man’s earlier work, specifically, Costello’s sardonic wit and Burnett’s devotion to detail and fondness for more traditional templates. 

At the same time, however, these supposed siblings still manage to find a similarity in style, as evidenced by a generous 20 songs they share in sync. While the fictitious backstory detailed in the booklet that accompanies the album adds some levity to the proceedings, the music the two make is the result of combined craft and creativity. Eloquent and expressive, it finds a cohesion that belies the fact that The Coward Brothers are after all, the pair’s first formal offering. In truth, these sounds could find a fit within the wheelhouse of either of these individuals. 
 
Part of the reason for that compatibility can be owed to fact that the two are hardly strangers, their fictitious brotherly bond aside. Their relationship goes back to 1984, when the two first performed together live, before being further ignited when Burnett co-produced Costello’s classic King of America, recently reissued as an expanded box set. Their recording relationship was subsequently rebooted three years later when they worked together on Costello’s Spike. 
 
With this first formal entry as a twosome, they vary the mood, sandwiching different sounds between the somewhat surreal delivery of opening track “Always” and the eerie Psychedelic strangeness of the closing “Clown About Town”. The ricochet rhythm that propels “Like Licorice” recalls Costello’s classic rocker “Pump It Up”, while the frenzied pace of the aptly-named “Tipsy Woman”, the rapid-fire “Birkenhead Girl”, and the kinetic cacophony and sexual innuendo of “My Baby Just Purrs (You’re Mine, Not Hers)” all suggest Elvis Costello is still holding fast to his early Punk precepts. On the other hand, the duo is adept at switching things up, adding Blues, Gospel, Rockabilly, and Rap on various occasions when so inclined. 
 
One might refer to it as brotherly love, sibling symmetry, or simply the ability of two iconic artists to pool their talents and create something special. Whatever the case, The Coward Brothers share a relationship that’s as fearless as it is fruitful.  (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of The Coward Brothers from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit The Coward Brothers website