Matt Charette & The Truer Sound from the album Lo-Fi High Hopes available as a self-release (by Brian Rock)
 
Matt Charette & The Truer Sound have hope up high for their second album, Lo-Fi High Hopes. Starting out in Boston’s boisterous Punk scene, Charette and the band have graduated to a more refined, Americana sound. Charette’s beefy voice and the band’s musical prowess combine to create a Chris Stapleton meets Willie Braun (Reckless Kelly) dynamic.
The lead track, “4X4”, comes roaring out of the gates with the ferocity of a Dropkick Murphy’s tune. Drums, guitars, and vocal hit you simultaneously as Charette sings ‘two blown speakers and four-wheel drive. Yeah, I’m leaning on my buddies just to stay alive’. Ending all debate about his suitability as a role model, Matt Charette unabashedly celebrates the joy of drinking and driving (kids, don’t try this at home!) He’s referring to back woods four wheeling; but the thrill seeking, just outside the law, mentality is clear. Not content to follow other people’s rules, he declares, ‘I won’t see you in church on Sunday but I’ll see you at the bar on Saturday night’. A manifesto of personal freedom, the song showcases the band’s desire to live and make music on their own terms.
“Go Down Swinging,” delivers that same message of autonomy with a melody that is softened by piano and Hamond organ chords. “Wrecking Ball” captures the fierce Alt Rock of The Cult. Again, pulsing Hammond organ helps drive the song as Charette recalls the feelings of the early days of Covid lockdown, when our everyday lives were demolished in an instant. Paying tribute to the jangly guitar interplay of Tom Petty and Mike Campbell, “Ontario,” is a feel-good tribute to a great lover from the Great White North. “Jess” is a Springsteen-esque ode to a friend who succumbed to drug addiction. Feeling her presence even now, Charette sings ‘we will never be the same. This old town never changes. We remember your name like a ghost from a long time ago’. Despite the tragic topic, the melody plays major chords in remembrance of the good times they once shared.
Matt Charette’s voice shifts from powerful to pleading as he turns to ballads. “Anywhere” is a steel guitar driven love song of devotion. When asked where he wants to be, Charette responds ‘there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than anywhere with you’. The weepy steel guitar gives hints of melancholy, but the soaring guitar and Hammond organ elevate the song to rapturous heights. “Everything” is a Bob Dylan-flavored contemplation of a relationship with unrealistic expectations; the pedal steel guitar mimicking the bittersweet sentiment of the lyrics. “Hard Way” examines the difficulties of sustaining relationships as Charette muses ‘if you let someone go and they come back to you, they say that is gold. But I ain’t mining for your love. And I ain’t searching for redemption above’. The love troubles continue on “Keeping Time”. Using a musical metaphor, Charette notes that lovers can’t make music together if they’re not on the same page. But even worse than a failed relationship is an uncertain relationship. “How It’s Gonna End” contemplates the possible bad endings that may lie ahead. Whether shedding tears of joy or tears of sorrow, the interplay of steel guitar and Hammond organ in the band’s ballads is sublime. Matt Charette & The Truer Sound deliver poignant and powerful songs of love, loss, and living free…. and there is no Truer Sound than that. (by Brian Rock)
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Logan Springer & The Wonderfully Wild (from the album Crow available as a self-release) (by Bryant Liggett)
Logan Springer is a heartland Rocker with an Indie Rock appeal. File Logan Springer and the Wonderfully Wild in the same category as any of the mid-West based bands that graced Pop radio for the last few decades, but ultimately the sound he’s created with his band on their latest Crow have a bit more bite, and a stronger aftertaste, than any prairie music you’d find on the Pop radio.
Tracks like “High Plains Wind” kick off with a tasty and fuzzy guitar riff. “Greenbacks and Gold” opens on a Funky piano and “Crow” title track gives a nod to 90’s era Grunge. Crow provides a Psychedelic vibe to “Thundercloud” while “The Rough” builds a large wall of guitar and “Can’t Complain” offers airy, floating guitar notes pulled from the jam-band realm.
Crow of the dial radio Rock. There is very much a broad appeal to Logan Springer and the Wonderfully Wild’s overall vibe, however the band is throwing out cuts for the educated, thinking music lover. There are street-wise, radio-friendly jams that don’t meander aimlessly. Crow delivers power without relying on solely being loud, and then provides a ballad like “Balling the Jack” that comes across as sincere without trying to knock you out with sadness.  Logan Springer and the Wonderfully Wild are Blues, Indie, and Rock’n’Roll purity, all delivered with an cool and a heartful of integrity to the tune.  (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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Tales and Takeaways from the 2023 Outlaw Country Cruise
(by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Like most music cruises, the Outlaw Country Cruise is akin to a floating festival at sea. It incorporates any number of essential populist elements — mainly the opportunity to meet and mingle the musicians involved and witness any number of impromptu jams that made possible by the bonds hastened by being on the same boat.
 
The 6-day cruise, which took place from February 21 - 27, made for an exceptional excursion, due in no small way to the communal feelings of those who took part, be it both the artist and the audience. While the banner might have implied an irreverent attitude — indeed, the language was rife with ‘shits’, ‘fucks’, and all other manner of expletives, a natural inclination according to one of the headliners, Kathleen Edwards — the music soared on the strength of a combined enthusiasm and common cause.

For the most part, it drew a middle-aged crowd, a mix of diehard devotees and those with firm devotion to a certain Rock’n’Roll regimen. However, that’s not to deny the verve and variety of those involved. At the outset, there would seem to be little commonality between a band like The Mavericks, the rockabilly regimen of Linda Gail Lewis (Jerry Lee’s sister, BTW), and an inspired insurgent like Steve Earle. Nevertheless, taken in tandem, the list of participants could easily rival any outdoor festival, be it Bonnaroo, Stagecoach, AmericanaFest, or for that matter, any other large gathering that takes place on an annual basis. It rocks around the clock, challenging the endurance and dexterity of those who base their involvement on certain party principles, namely that afforded by not having to drive home and the ability to sleep it off in the convenience of one’s cabin.
 
Sixthman, the cruise producers, have it all down pat, having honed their expertise on the ever-popular Cayamo Cruise, which features a similar Alt Country, Roots Rock line-up minus a few obvious excesses. The onboard team is not only polite and respectful, but fully aware of the mechanics needed to make such a massive operation run smoothly and efficiently. There were, of course, a few last-minute tweaks in the schedule and, sadly, a couple of cancellations, but that didn’t deter the proceedings in any way or form. Sets were kept to an hour and fifteen minutes, avoiding any need to alter the schedules. In addition, the artists played with enough frequency to ensure that no-one needed to miss a show, especially given the fact that the musicians frequently sat in with others via “guitar pulls” ( a songwriters in the round type event) and all-star assemblages such as The Mavericks and Friends extravaganza held on the final night of the cruise. So too, with a variety of venues to choose from — the Stardust Theater main stage, the outdoor pool stage, various bar type settings, and the Spinnaker Lounge — there was ample opportunity to catch the artists in the setting of one’s choosing.
 
In that regard, there wasn’t single performance that failed to rally the crowd. The Mavericks were stunning as always, with singer Raul Malo getting multiple kudos from his colleagues for possessing one of the most expressive vocals of any artist today. Last minute addition Robbie Fulks could easily find a second career as a stand-up comedian, courtesy of his pointedly pithy remarks. Rhett Miller of the Old 97s also shined in his solo show — bequeathing the audience with a new expression (‘replicate individually’) which roughly translates as a common insult and toss-off.
 
However, it was the mix of old and new that also made the cruise so special.  Joe King Carrasco, Augie Meyers, Linda Gail Lewis, Bill Kirchen, Joshua Ray Walker, Sarah Borges, Jesse Dayton, Slim Jim Phantom (formerly of the Stray Cats), and Country music icon John Anderson all offered impressive solo showcases as well as sharing in salutes to Jerry Lee Lewis, Doug Sahm, and, notably, Anderson himself. Past to the present.
 
Of course, it was all about modern music as well, with the Supersuckers (and lead guitarist Metal Marty), the Old 97s, the Vandoliers, Warren Hodges (late of Jason and the Scorchers), Andrew Leahey (who did double duty as Elizabeth Cook’s music director along with helming his band The Homestead, and the two overlapping outfits that hail from the U.K. by way of Chicago — the Waco Brothers and the Mini-Mekons (both captained by the absolute insurgency of Jon Langford) — that ensured a certain unflagging energy permeated the proceedings. Given the term “outlaw country” as a banner, these bands provided the rousing, rallying, robust energy that kept the crowd upbeat and invigorated at every opportunity.
 
That doesn’t even include such obvious marquee names as Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, of course, the aforementioned Elizabeth Cook, Rosie Flores, and Carlene Carter, not to mention such workmanlike regulars as Bobby Bare Jr., The Mastersons/Whitmore Sisters, Tommy McLain, Eric ‘Roscoe’ Ambel and Mary Lee’s Corvette all performing with due diligence.

Of course, there were the obligatory stops along the way — in this case Cozumel and the private island of Great Stirrup Cay. However, as one would expect, it was the music that mattered most, and while there was a lull in the festivities for shore leave, the ship, the Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pearl, offered plenty of rest and respite without the need to go ashore. Kudos to the crew for putting such special emphasis on service and making the guests feel like rock stars themselves.
 
The Outlaw Country Cruise will set sail next year as well, for what will be the eighth outing undertaken thus far. If this year’s extravaganza is any indication, the Sixthman team have a lot to live up to. But based on their ability to produce and present, there’s little doubt they’ll outshine themselves.



For more information head on over to the Sixthman website for information on Outlaw Country Cruise, Cayamo, and other seaborne musical excursions
 

The Nude Party from the album Rides On available on New West Records (by Lee Zimmerman)

The naked truth about The Nude Party is pretty simple. Here’s an unpretentious Rock’n’Roll party band who aim only to entertain their faithful legions, embellishing the mix with steady rhythms, an amiable approach, clear confidence and clarity. Rides On, their fourth album to date, proves the point. It’s simply an agreeable set of songs, flush with honest emotion and the honest intention of providing a celebratory showing.

In truth, that’s been their mission since early on, when they gained their name by doing exactly what it describes, playing with bare-ass bravado sans clothing or concerns.  Now, with a respectable record company affiliation and the need to maintain at least the appearance of a more mature disposition, they still manage to retain a certain nonchalance. The majority of the tracks retain that easy, unbridled approach, one that finds songs such as “Word Gets Around”, “Hard Times (All Around)”, and “Hey Monet” basking in a generally genial attitude. As the album ambles on, that loose and limber delivery takes a slightly darker turn, giving “Somebody Tryin’ To Hoodoo Me”, “Tell ‘Em”, and “Sold Out of Love” a swampy sound that somewhat reminiscent of the drier designs of Bob Dylan at his most unapologetic. That said, it lacks any real grit or gravitas. The music coasts at an easy, breezy pace, avoiding sharp edges or weightier resolve.

Ultimately, Rides On comes across as a more organic offering — loose, limber and mostly carefree. It is, at its essence, simply an enjoyable collection if sturdy and assured rock and revelry, one conceived with the sole intent of providing entertainment and enjoyment. There’s no need to plough below the surface, given the fact that the melodies are so effortlessly employed. Consider Rides On an exercise in smooth sailing.
(By Lee Zimmerman)
 
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The War and Treaty from the album Lover’s Game available on Mercury Nashville (By Lee Zimmerman)

The rapid rise of The War and Treaty was clearly no accident. The duo, comprised of husband-and-wife Michael and Tanya Trotter, cross any number of stylistic parameters, bridging Rock, Soul, R&B, Gospel, and Americana within a smooth sequeway. In a very real sense, they promote a diversity and dynamic that not only defies musical boundaries, but also serves the cause of creating a common bond at a time when distance and divide threatens to create a permanent chasm.

Their new album, Lover’s Game, finds them in the able company of producer Dave Cobb, the man behind the boards for such notables as Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, among any number of other A-list artists. To his credit, Cobb never intrudes on the proceedings, instead allowing the duo to emote with an authenticity that allows each of these songs to soar with erstwhile emotion. The arrangements are measured and sparse, allowing the vocals to take center stage. In a sense, the couple bare it all, sharing an honesty that reflects what it means to struggle and yet survive the realities of a relationship that’s both fragile and fulfilling.
 
The results are manifest in a set of songs that are simultaneously tender and tenacious, a no-holds barred approach that leaves no doubt as to their deeper desires. The emotive ballad “That’s How Love Is Made” sums things up succinctly, but any number of other songs — “Ain’t No Harmin’ Me”, “Blank Page”, “Angel”, “Up Yonder”, and “Yesterday’s Burn” — share similar sentiments. The pair’s remarkable chemistry, as manifested in the music’s determined delivery, occasionally tends to illuminate darker designs, but even so, it offers hope for possibilities fulfilled through commitment and concern. The expansive vocals that illuminate the song “Dumb Luck” allows that optimism to take center stage, and given their bond, the inspiration is obvious.
 
Ultimately Lover’s Game stands out as both revealing and revelatory, a remarkable testament to truly dynamic duo whose lessons learned can clearly shine a light for all at a time when it’s needed the most. Those who fail to be moved might best be advised to check for a pulse. Commanding and compelling, Lover’s Game is The War & Treaty’s greatest gambit yet. (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
 
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Drayton Farley from the album Twenty on High available on Hargrove Records/Thirty Tigers (by Bryant Liggett)
The latest from Drayton Farley is picturesque, personal and personable. Twenty on High is Farley laying it all out, dropping a heavy narrative via songs that are both stories and lessons; loaded with vivid detail.  Those emotions are explored right from the get-go. “Stop the Clock” is Drayton Farley looking back fondly on his past and the ‘house that we called home, it was a single-wide, it was a cornerstone’. “Stop the Clock” is Farley singing about the locomotive that is time, expressing a wish turn back the days, hours, minutes…. even if it’s for only a second. 
There’s a gritty wall of electric guitar in “Norfolk Blues” where Drayton Farley is reminding you about the bleakness of a dead-end job, and he drops a bouncy two-stepper in “Devils in NOLA” that has swinging fiddle, but this is a record that’s all about the ballad.  Slide guitar and organ accentuate the sadness of “Wasted Youth,” “Something Wrong (Inside My Head)” is a cut that questions why you can be down when there’s sometimes good all around you, and “Alabama Moon” is a road song that delivers big ache and big sadness.
Look no further for sadness in the song, as Drayon Farley’s has done it all for you! Twenty on High is gentle, subtle, and hushed, a laid-back effort exploring a gamut of emotions. (by Bryant Liggett)
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MEM-MODS from the album MEM-MODS Vol.1 available on Peabody Recording Company (by Bryant Liggett)
Members of Memphis outfit Mem Mods keep busy. Not busy enough to keep them from dropping what some may call, this reviewer included, a top instrumental release of the year, but for the multi-instrumentalist and ring-leader of New Memphis Colorways, guitar player in Memphis bad-ass’s Big Ass Truck and The Hold Steady, as well as guitar player/front-person of North Mississippi All-Stars, time for a side effort may be slim. Thankfully a small window opened, producing MEM_MODS Vol. 1, a slick release from Memphis music veterans Paul Taylor, Steve Selvidge, and Luther Dickinson that catches a soulful Stax groove while being as cool and inventive as tomorrow.
“Capricorn Catastrophe” is a full and Funky opener that drifts into a dreamy “Three on the Tree” before picking the Funk back up via the bass heavy “Feathers on a House Cat”. There are psychedelic meanderings in “Harmolodica”, some Punk pushiness in “Midtown Miscommunication”, and a full on, hip secret-agent score in “Sonoma Smashup”. They dare make disco cool via “Sparkle Skate”, get experimental and ambient on “Perseveration Blues”, and continue to get out there and trippy on the closer in “Horn Lake Hookup”.
This is a record made by a crew who, thanks to Memphis music luminaries Jim Dickinson and Sid Selvidge, were surrounded by music since diaper and pacifier days. MEM_MODS Vol.1 is horns, wah-wah guitar, thick bass lines and subtle break beats coming together to make experimental cocktail lounge and old-school funk that flirts in the EDM world. Simply put, it’s 22nd Century inventive, cool, and flat out fun. It also resurrects Memphis label Peabody Records, as MEM_MODS Vol. 1 is their first release in near 40 years. Welcome back.
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Bobbo Byrnes from the album October available as a self-release (by Danny McCloskey)
For Bobbo Byrnes, recording October, his latest release, didn’t take a village. October required an ocean between Bobbo Byrnes and his comfort zone to find the song-delivering muse. Bobbo was touring Europe in fall 2022, a man with guitar and mandolin. He also had a batch of songs he packed for the trip and, while overseas, entered Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany and at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, Ireland to capture the tracks. The result is October, a fiercely personal accounting of what Bobbo Byrnes sees as ‘some of the least radio-accessible songs’. A Folksinger for 2023, Bobbo Byrnes incorporates studio technology with the man/guitar model, achieving success with an album that benefits from what modern studios can offer without using gimmickry or mix-fixing for final results.
A sonic overture of seemingly disparate notes opens October, the sound quieting to a strum as Bobbo Byrnes begins the song cycle with “The Cold War”. He introduces “Crooked Jack” with a story told with in an echoed vocal backed by chiming guitar chords as October twists acoustic strums into a revolving rhythm for the story of “Time Enough” while quietly honoring “Heroes” when Bobbo covers David Bowie. Though the man standing at the microphone holds just a guitar, October is alive with sounds, presenting an album more in line with modern Indie music than the Folk of 1960’s coffee houses. Bobbo Byrnes shuffles “House of Cards” in the persona of Little John, wrapping warm guitar notes around the title track, closing out October as man and guitar presenting the tale of “Too Many Miles”. (by Danny McCloskey)
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Margo Price (from the album Strays available on Loma Vista Recordings/Concord Music) (by Danny McCloskey)
A gathering storm of sound is an overture for Margo Price as she begins the song cycle on Strays, her latest release, with “Been to the Mountain”. The cut delivers a resume as it sets the standard for mystical on Strays. Margo Price continues to expand on her own career as well as curating a future for Roots music with Jonathan Wilson’s production of the album. Psychedelia moves freely throughout an album that stacks the adversity in life high as Margo Price’s words of inspiration point ways around, over, or through tough times. Strays spies a boy traveling down a “County Road” as Margo Price rides shotgun with a story that looks out the window at a nightmare world of changes. Dark clouds ride in on the low murmur of guitar notes and chords hovering over “Hell in the Heartland” as Margo Price cruises on a groove to announce her “Change of Heart” and hushes the melody to introduce “Lydia”.
Friends stop by for Strays, Margo Price asking to “Light Me Up” on a tune with Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs) while Lucuis back with vocals on “Anytime You Call” and Sharon van Etten joins in to tune out the world with the “Radio”. Margo Price takes chances as she pushes out the borders of Roots music while she crafts her own sound. Strays ups the ante by blending and blurrying the lines between Country, Rock’n’Roll, and all forms of Roots music. A rubbery bend of sound and a solid beat are the foundation for Margo Price to turn back the clock with “Time Machine” as she exits Strays collecting lost dreams to bury in “Landfill”. (by Danny McCloskey)
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