​David Kimbrough Jr (from the album Say You Don’t Love Me: The Last Recordings of David Kimbrough,Jr available on Dolceola Recordings)  (by Chris Wheatley)
 
Blues guitarist David Kimbrough Jr passed away on July 4th, 2019. The son of equally renowned musician Junior Kimbrough, David upheld the family musical tradition, a particular style which someone, somewhere, labelled Cotton Patch Soul Blues. It's an evocative name, and an evocative story. The songs on Say You Don't Love Me were recorded in David Kimbrough's house, in Holly Springs, North Carolina, in 2017, on portable reel-to-reel tape, with a single microphone. This was a deliberate approach by record label Dolceola. The label are committed to rejuvenating the great American tradition of field recordings. Since the early 1900’s, and on through the 1960’s, pioneering ethnomusicologists such as the great Alan Lomax scoured the U.S.A. from shore to shining shore and beyond, and are responsible for a treasure trove of musical gold dust. There is something immediately connecting which results from this technique. Stripped of studio artifice, post-production, or fancy mixing, we are left only with the artist and his instruments. It is as pure a snapshot as we can get of the past, and a true measure of the musician's skill.
 
Say You Don't Love Me comprises eight tracks, three of which are David Kimbrough Jr originals, the other five cuts cover versions of his father's songs, including the previously unpublished title track. Set opener, “Introduction”, is a delight. We get to hear David up close, as if he were standing at our shoulder, stating his name and recounting a story as he warms up on the strings. I have always loved this approach of including 'chatter' on an album. It is a mile away from plastic-wrapped, pre-packaged stardom. “Introduction” provides a gentle and touching moment, which leads into the Say You Don't Love Me title track. Kimbrough's guitar rattles and sings, ringing out clear and true; a remarkable display of talent. David Kimbrough Jr's voice is a treat, smooth as molasses. The Cotton Patch Soul style is rhythm and melody combined on one guitar. It sounds beautiful, seems simple, but in-reality is anything but. You have to remind yourself that there is only a single player here, so effective are the overtones, bass-notes and buzzing overlaps.
 
‘I'm just trying to get it right, I haven't played it in so long’ says Kimbrough after a false start on “Half Past A Monkey's Azz” before launching into a beguiling acapella rendition, slapping his guitar for the beat. The guitar proper, when it appears, comes in like the rising sun, sparkling and shining. This is a joyous performance, a shining star from the very top of the Blues tree. “Meet Me in the City” clatters with reverberating chords with light-and-shadow intonations. The depth and width which Kimbrough teases from six strings is astonishing. If you want to hear a master at work, listen no further than “Poke That Pig”. Kimbrough's voice floats like a cloud above a landscape of gut-wrenching, strummed riffs and simultaneously thumbed bottom-strings.  There is reason that the guitar is such a ubiquitous instrument world-wide; those strings, in the right hands and with a spirit of adventure, are capable of almost limitless expression. Kimbrough achieves this with the sweet simplicity that comes from truly connecting with his craft.
 
“Lonesome Road,” is a wonderful way to end this trip. Shades of North African style shine forth, as Kimbrough offers up soul-drenched vocals over a quiet-loud accompaniment. Alternately moaning and crying, dripping with bittersweet echoes, David Kimbrough Jr and his six strings are in total harmony. Say You Don't Love Me is a treat for the ears and a tonic for the soul. I would speculate that it would be impossible to listen to these recordings and not find yourself moved. If you love the Blues, pick this up. If you don't, then pick this up anyway. You won't regret it.  (by Chris Wheatley)
 
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For more information head on over to the David Kimbrough Jr website
 
 

​Shemekia Copeland (from the album Uncivil War available on Alligator Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
The latest from Shemekia Copeland finds the Blues woman exploring Roots and Gospel amidst her familiar Blues format. Lyrically smart and musically sharp, Uncivil War is defined by stabbing guitar and well-worded lyrics as Shemekia Copeland tackles current events and issues, a sharp tongue and mind that flitters about the angles in the music.  Shemekia Copeland gives a history lesson on albums opener “Clotilda’s On Fire”, singing about The Clotilda, a slave ship discovered in Alabama in the last few years. “Walk Until I Ride” carries a Gospel groove as Copeland ‘sings for the hopeless and the hungry’, the final minute turning the slow Gospel groove into a full-on church revival. the title track proving Shemekia Copeland can scrap electricity and lead an acoustic band; it’s a cut that wouldn’t be out of place closing a bluegrass festival.
At this point there have been so many Rolling Stones songs covered one wonders if Mick and Keef were writing for themselves or for others, Shemekia Copeland turns in an instrumentally stripped Jagger/Richards cut on Uncivil War, the laid-back and beautiful “Under My Thumb.”. “Apple Pie and A.45” is a straight-ahead dirty Blues addition and “She Don’t Wear Pink” is a supportive of woman cut, ditching the female stereotypes, a rhythm that owes more to old-school Rockabilly than classic Blues. Shemekia Copeland forays into other genres on Uncivil War, her Americana, Blues, Bluegrass, and Rockabilly cuts beefed up by Jason Isbell, Steve Cropper, Jerry Douglas, and Duane Eddy; this is another point of pride on what is already a stacked resume of a career. 
 
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For more information head over to the Shemekia Copeland website
 

​O'Hooley & Tidow (from the album Live at St George's, No Masters Records) (by Chris Wheatley) 
 
Shortly before lockdown came into being here in England (do we remember a time before that term entered our consciousness?) Folk Singer/Songwriter’s Heidi Tidow and Belinda O'Hooley entered St. George's concert hall in the port city of Bristol to perform thirteen of their deeply personal songs. In the ten years since they began working together, the duo, also a married couple, have gained plaudits from all corners of the Folk world and beyond. You couldn't ask for a better setting; St George's, a former Gregorian church, renowned for its superb acoustics, is an inspiring, two-hundred-year-old creation. Bristol itself has a long musical history, not all of it commendable, but that in itself is commensurate to Folk music, which has always documented the dark as well as the light.
 
“The Tallest Tree” is as good an opener as any you will find. O'Hooley's piano playing is simply gorgeous, a rolling wave of sound, rising and falling like breath. Tidow's accented, painfully honest, vocals are highly affecting. Together they produce something truly special. When the duo harmonizes it adds another layer of beauty to the effect. You can see why the pair were chosen to provide a theme song for HBO/BBC drama “Gentleman Jack”, included on Live at St. Geroge’s. Their music, despite being an acoustic duo, is deeply cinematic, plunging you into a world of swelling emotion.
 
“Small, Big Love,” which was written for the couple's wedding day, is a sweet, bucolic masterpiece. Indeed, the earthy heart of this album (and O’Hooley & Tidow’s work as a whole) coupled with their unflinching rawness, both lyrically and musically, is what gives them strength and sets them apart. “Gentleman Jack” itself reels with ominous power. The melody is instantly memorable, a curious mix of traditional cadences and deep, modern tones. “Ronnie's Song” trickles gently like an autumn stream. That same sense of bittersweet wonder infuses the track with an irrepressible charm and narrative hook. 
 
Sometimes you just have to step back and shake your head in wonder. Free of the flashy spotlights, in a whole other country than the one claiming the post-MTV, high-octane incessant celebrity machine. O'Hooley and Tidow have created a land of their own, a world where compassion and guilelessness are championed. As admirable musically as these compositions are, they are also brave. Listening to these songs, you feel like you are stepping inside an intimate circle of friendships and shared lives, and you feel welcome.
 
The sound, by the way, is perfect. For a concert recording, the immediacy and clarity is first class yet the live feel is certainly present, not just in the audience's appreciative response. Emanating from just two players, the expansive nature of the experience is extraordinary. O'Hooley and Tidow, with two voices and one piano, manage to fill the mind's landscape from horizon to horizon. “The Hum” weaves and dances, a cautionary tale of middle-class entitlement and human fallacies. New composition, “Woman in Space”, floats like the woman in question, orbiting a world at once vast and complex, yet small and familiar. The pull between everyday needs and grand aspirations.
 
Musically, lyrically, and in terms of integrity, the works of O'Hooley and Tidow cannot be faulted. Live at St George's will delight long-time fans. It will also delight anyone in search of sincere yet accessible acoustic Roots music. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
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For more information head over to the O’Hooley & Tidow website
 
 

​Matt Walsh (from the album Burnt Out Soul available on Full Bloom Records)
A Rock’n’Roll rush gets sparked by cranky guitar riffs when “Come Here No More” kicks open the doors on Burnt Out Soul, the recent release from Matt Walsh. Using the riffs and chords as a pulpit for his sermon, Matt Walsh finger-points his vitriol, casually drawing the line in the storyline as he sets the tone for Burnt Out Soul. Captaining a crew of songs with mixed musical heritage, Matt Walsh centers the album with an easy vocal delivery, counting happiness on the Country sway of “The Door”, making a plea over the Garage Rock Funk in “Sugar”, and sliding into the psychedelic march traipsing through “Happy or Blue”.
 
Originally from Statesville, North Carolina, Matt Walsh received an early musical education from his mother’s Motown collection and an uncle’s albums holding a gold mine of early 1950’s electric Blues and 1960’s Rock’n’Roll. He began playing guitar and in 2007 established himself in the Blues world with his Hard Luck solo release. Burnt Out Soul is the fourth solo release from Matt Walsh as he balances recording with a full schedule of artistic endeavors that include songwriting, filmmaking, and acting. The spirit of Mose Allison shuffles alongside Matt Walsh in “Leaving Blues” while sends a shout out to the heavens for “Don’t Shut My Party Down” as Burnt Out Soul hops on a train rail beat for the title track.
 
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For more information head over to the Matt Walsh website
 
 

​The Budos Band (from the album Long in the Tooth available on Daptone Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
Old school R&B, Afro Soul or Afro-beat, Staten Island, NY’s The Budos Band continues to deliver all facets of Funk with a solid, horn-heavy punch. Layered but loose, gritty with a groove, The Budos Band’s latest, Long in the Tooth is a blaxploitation film soundtrack while also thumping off a Budos-branded Funk that hits hard for the Jam-band world. Deliciously old school and fresh as next week.
An alarm pulsing keyboard kicks off the opening title track, fading fast under the pushy horns, ultimately surrendering to a grunge guitar, scoring that a decades old, seedy street scene.  Hypnotic keyboard riffs fade behind a mid-tempo horn melody on “Snake Hawk”, “Dusterado” a slow groover, and “Haunted Sea” a head-bopper with long horn lines.  The riff that introduces “Gun Metal Grey” pushes the cut into a hint of spaghetti westerns, the dark, mysterious danger continuing through “Mierda De Toro”. The Budos Band dig into psychedelic exploration for album closer “Renegade”, where gospel organ gives way to sharp, Ravi Shankar-influenced guitar licks and knob turning controls the final :40 seconds of the track.  Big, layered and complex, Long in the Tooth is music that’s ripe for good time twirling while also being tunes that when pumped through your earbuds transport to rough and ready NYC streets circa 1975. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
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For more information head on over to The Budos Band website
 

​Kim Wilson (from the album Take Me Back available on M.C. Records)
With a dedication to Blues traditions as well as a keen understanding of moving the genre forward, Kim Wilson returns with his seventh solo album, Take Me Back. A longtime student of the Blues both in his solo work, guest spots, and fronting The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kim Wilson goes beyond vintage in the sound of the album. Take Me Back bleeds Blues authenticity. The album opens on a Kim Wilson tune, “You’ve Been Goofin’”. The tracks penned by the Bluesman on Take Me Back mixing with cuts from Larry Williams and Chuck Nolan among other Blues and R&B gems mined from past decades. 
 
Kim’s history with recording has stayed true to analog and live performances. ON his new album stepping back to classic Blues albums, making Take Me Back a mono recording claiming ‘that’s what I love and that’s where I live’. His vocals and harmonica power the album, the harp sweet and high for a duet with electric guitar in “If It Ain’t Me” while it takes the lead on “No Place to Go”. Kim’s harp lines weave around the six-string work and piano rambles when he Blues boasts for a special lady in “I’m Sorry”, slows the pace to smolder for “Strange Things Happening” and exits the album on harp spits and snarls in “Out of the Frying Pan”.
 
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For more information head on over to the Kim Wilson website
 

​Jon Snodgrass (from the album TACE on A-F Records)
Peel back the layers on Jon Snodgrass and his core is all Rock. When he is touring solo overseas Jon Snodgrass is a real-deal rough around the edges Folk-dude. The recorded output of his work in Drag the River is filed under Alt Country and his work in Armchair Martian is stowed in the Punk section. Roll away the years to his Missouri childhood to find skateboards soundtracked by Husker Du. Dig into the latest Jon Snodgrass release TACE to hear a little Drag the River and a little Armchair Martian behind a healthy dose of Rock keepers. “Renaissance Man” has the power chords and aggressive surge that nods to the company he’s keeping with bands such as The Descendents, ALL, and The Blasting Room, Jon Snodgrass keeping that charge rolling into “Brand New Lands”.
“Don’t Break Her Heart” is a guitar-heavy, sentimental sandwich, the first :20 and final :40 seconds all power chords and drum rolls bookending a big ballad. 
“BoyzIIMen” is tender, sad, and wonderful, the equally heavy, equally wonderful “1-2-3-4,” following with Jon Snodgrass sneaking in tributes to Uncle Tupelo and Ramones. “The Sequel” is just that, part 2 of a Drag the River song, a ripping cut with buddy Joe that is a punk pal road trip scored by Ronnie James Dio. “Go Baseball” nods to Snodgrass’s son and a love of baseball, with the title track being the exclamation point for the national pastime. With no silent seconds between songs there’s not a wasted moment, and Jon Snodgrass loaded the record with buddies, an all-star roster of a backing band that include members of The Descendents, Rise Against, Lagwagon, and more.
 
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For more information head over to the Jon Snodgrass website
 

​Grain Thief (from the album Gasoline available as a self-release)
Shuffling in on an ode to their ride, Grain Thief lovingly sing ‘she burns diesel like I burn a bridge’ to a big metal heartthrob in “Diesel Baby”. Gasoline titles the recent release from Grain Thief, the Boston, Mass. five-piece using the moniker to fuel the audio on the fast-paced “Pedal Down” and effervescent strums of the title track. Sparkling notes circle “Sunlight” while “Bourgeois Breakfast” is the soundtrack for a hoedown buffet. Gasoline is a symphony of sounds, Grain Thief making use of every option in the string band musical arsenal. 
Lightly touched notes rotate around a steady rhythm in “Zoe” while Country darkness rises from “Nightmare”, Grain Thief keeping the Country in place for the ramble in “Tequila Bottle” and staying south of the border for “Manche Mi Camisa”. Grain Thief are the string band guides through diverse array of styles as they expand on the potential for the genre. Gasoline puts a determination into the instrumental reading of “Off the Rails” while Grain Thief admit “I Was Wrong” as the sift through the wreckage of a romance.
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For more information head on over to the Grain Thief website
 
 

​Fleetwood Mac (from the album Then Play On available on BMG)
Many changes came to the musical career of an earlier incarnation of Fleetwood Mac in 1969. The third album in their recording career, Then Play On, was a part of the shift with the band moving away from the Blues base of their first releases by presenting cuts that expanded on the material for the group. Peter Green, the unofficial leader for Fleetwood Mac in 1969 would make Then Play On his last record with the band. Much like the performance and studio climate of bands in 1969, Then Play On electrifies Folk, stretching the playing out to extended jams and dreamy soundscapes. The Fleetwood Mac line-up went through multiple changes before locking into a formula in 1975. Then Play On welcomed Danny Kirwan in on guitar and sharing songwriting with the departing Green. 
 
Then Play On became the first Fleetwood Mac album to incorporate overdubs extensively as well as the jamming Peter Green was bringing to their live sets. It also became the first release from the band that did not adhere to the previous strict Blues format. The English based group followed a US west coast trend for a wider stylistic approach to the recording. While its sales did not come close to the mega-figures of their late 1970’s/1980’s release schedule, Then Play On was a pivotal album for the band for its genre-pushing, and included cuts that would become Fleetwood Mac concert staples such as “Oh Well, Pts. 1 & 2”, and “The Green Manalishi (with the Two Pronged Crown)”.
 
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For more information head over to the Fleetwood Mac website
 

​Elvis Perkins (from the album Creation Myths available on MIR/Petaluma Records) (by Chris Wheatley) 
 
There's something fitting in the fact that folk singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins is distantly related to Giovanni Schiaparelli, the Italian astronomer who became convinced that he had discovered evidence of canals on Mars. Schiaparelli's assertions influenced a host of early science fiction writers including, most famously, H. G. Wells. What is music if not storytelling, and what grand flights of imagination resulted from Schiaparelli's ultimately flawed observations? Perkins, of course, comes from a family of creatives, his father being no less than the actor Anthony Perkins. Relatives aside, Elvis is a fine, fine artist in his own right and Creation Myths, Perkins' fifth album since his 2007 debut Ash Wednesday, makes for an intriguing prospect.
For this new project, Elvis Perkins chose to look backwards, revisiting old material which has never seen the light of day. ‘The long and short of it’ he explains, with tongue in cheek ‘is that these songs were all written long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away’. These songs ‘very well could have comprised what would have been my very first record, and yet the fates had a different say about how life would go’. Whatever the reason these tracks never made it to the studio (some, says Perkins, lived on only as poor-quality live recordings from an open-mic night) they have evidently nagged at the back of his mind. Unfinished business, you might say, just waiting for the right time to come along.
Opener “Sing Sing” should dispel any doubts you might have. It unwinds as a fuzzy, spectral and decidedly psychedelic lament. Soft drums, beautifully understated strings and delicate bass expand and contract, a slow-moving merry-go-round of warbling keys and synth sounds. At heart, though, Elvis Perkins is a fine songwriter. There is no excess here. ‘Where are you bound, what does your sign say?’ he sings, with a sweet, yet highly affecting voice. Comparisons to late-era Beatles or Nick Drake are inevitable, but Perkins is very much his own man. “Sing Sing” is a fantastic cut, representative of the album as a whole. It is a journey in itself, one where there is a new wonder around every corner.
 
“I Know You Know” is gentle, yet somehow slightly warped Americana, with spooky slide guitar and soft piano. This strange, yet ultimately familiar soundscape feels perfect for modern times. The pull between solid ground and wide-open sky, between the reassuringly familiar and uncertain possibilities, is mesmerizing and somewhat disconcerting, in a pleasant way. A potent cocktail which goes straight to your head, Perkins injects heart, honesty and raw humour into every second. The lovely, lovingly arranged “Iris” is full of almost unbearable longing, the bitter-sweetness of forlorn love. The sparse and ghostly “Anonymous” puts one in mind of Bill Frisell's Turner-esque musical masterpieces. Again, though, it would be a crime not to say that Elvis Perkins is a true originator. The arrangements throughout this album are impressive. Each song is possessed of enough unexpected delights and nuanced shifts in tone to warrant repeated listens.
As Elvis Perkins himself would point out, returning to old work, especially from very early in one's career, can be a daunting prospect, like gazing into a magic mirror which reveals your true self from years past, in unflinching detail. ‘There was maybe a naive quality to the songs’ he says ‘but they didn’t feel immature or half-baked. I was lucky that the right sensibilities were there, and that I wasn’t alone in feeling like these songs were worth the air they were going to take up in someone’s room or car or house’. These are the words of a clearly dedicated and conscientious musician. Does Creation Mythsdeserve a place in your airspace? For this reviewer, the answer is a resounding 'yes'. (by Chris Wheatley)
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For more information head on over to the Elvis Perkins website