AUK Short Cuts: Tekla Waterfield & Jeff Fielder, The Division Men, Jesse Lovelock & The Velvet Voices, Garreson, Lynn Crossett, Marc Teamaker, Beau Jennings, Jim Bruno Trio, Michael Darcy & The Atlantic Tramps, The Fields, Joshua Josué and Benoît LeBlanc

Our latest Short Cuts, a monthly feature where AUK casts a brief eye and ear on several albums we’ve received recently, which just didn’t make the cut for a full review. Like most major music websites, we can’t mention every album we get sent, but we reckon the picks below deserve a nod. Click on the links to hear a song.

First on the platter this time out we have musical duo Tekla Waterfield & Jeff Fielder who are Seattle-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Waterfield and her husband and musical partner, multi-instrumentalist and producer Fielder, who has worked with, amongst others, Indigo Girls, Mark Lanegan, Zach Bryan and Kim Thayil (Soundgarden). “Mother Mind” is the pair’s second album as a duo following 2021’s self-release, “Trouble In Time”. It’s a deeply personal album, touching on themes of motherhood, mental health, identity and belonging.

The album is a treat featuring, as it does, songs that are well written and well performed. Waterfield’s voice in particular is a powerful, expressive instrument and it’s used to good effect throughout, but perhaps most notably on the record’s standout cut, ‘Something My Own‘. This song sees Waterfield wishing to be able to put down roots as a family unit and recognising that most of her life has been spent on the move, having literally moved “27 times by the age of 27.” This album is well worth a listen; with a range of musical styles there’s probably something for everyone. Click here to listen to ‘Something My Own’.

Next up, we have another husband and wife musical partnership, The Division Men with their release “Hymns and Fiery Dances”. J. Spencer Portillo (vocals and acoustic guitar) and Caroline Rippy Portillo (vocals and bass guitar) make up the El Paso, Texas-based acoustic duo, which was formed in Berlin in 2008, while the name The Division Men came from the idea of artists collaborating from all over the world despite their locations. Four years in the making, “Hymns and Fiery Dances” was recorded between January 2020 and December 2024 and is the duo’s fourth album. Appearing on the record (and fitting in with the collaboration remit of The Division Men) are numerous ‘guests’, including people who have previously worked with a wide range of artists and across genres, such as Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Live, Leonard Cohen, Los Lobos, Def Leppard, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Calexico.

The Division Men’s signature sound is distinctive, it has been described as dark, romantic, ethereal, and haunting and listening to the songs, you can see why. It’s a sophisticated, Latin-influenced vibe with strong rhythms and melodies, sometimes these bring to mind Calexico. The subject of the songs is interesting in itself; for example song titles ‘Cemetery Girl‘, ‘The Night Calls‘ and ‘Dead Moon‘ suggest something akin to “The Day of the Dead”. It appears that J. Spencer Portillo has a significant part to play in this with the LP’s press release suggesting that his roots influence the lyrics’ “Atmospheric portraits of love, life and death in a border town.” Click to listen to ‘The Undertow’

Could Jesse Lovelock become a saviour of country music? At a time when many of the offerings from Nashville sound like anything but country music, it’s refreshing to hear a modern record that evokes memories of more traditional country. “Jesse Lovelock & The Velvet Voices” is the self-produced debut record by Lovelock; it certainly sounds authentic to the countrypolitan records of decades gone by, from the songs, Lovelock’s voice and vocal style, to that of the ‘velvet’ voices of the backing singers, the arrangements and the instrumentation. Even the album cover art is reminiscent of those long gone days; depicting, as it does, the artist leaning on a timber bridge, with the album title and the songs listed on the front cover. Lovelock’s influences include Slim Whitman, Jim Reeves, Ronnie Dove and Faron Young; he says he was given a gift of a jukebox for his 18th birthday, loaded with songs by these and similar protagonists. If your musical tastes include a touch of nostalgia, or lean towards ‘old fashioned’ (in a good way) country music, the countrypolitan sound or, if you just like things that are a little different to today’s mainstream, then you might find a lot to like here. Listen to ‘Long Gone Train’

Garreson is an americana artist from the blue mountains of Oregon; his debut album is entitled “Monte“. It’s a very personal, emotional record, created as a tribute to his late grandfather, Monte Garrison, who was a songwriter and country and western singer. The task of continuing his grandfather’s legacy is very important to Garreson; honouring the person who, according to the singer, “… taught me to play guitar at seventeen, when I was living in his basement and trying to figure out who I was.” As well as his grandfather, Garreson cites artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, Roy Orbison and Stevie Nicks as influences. The album opens with ‘Monte’s Introduction‘, a short recording of Monte Garrison’s voice, telling his grandson how much talent he thinks he has and how he should use it. Two of the songs on the LP were originally written and performed by Monte Garrison; “Let It Go”, a song about letting go of a love that didn’t work and “Together Forever” which is a love song Garreson’s grandfather wrote for his grandmother, which closes the record. The remaining songs are written by Garreson and they are generally pretty good; follow the link to listen to ‘Swimming‘.

Lynn Crossett hails from somewhere just a little south of music hotbed Austin, in San Marcos, Texas (but now splitting his time between Texas and California); singer songwriter Crossett’s latest album release, “Autumn to August” was produced by noted producer (and father of The Chicks’ lead singer, Natalie Maines) Lloyd Maines. Fascinatingly, Crossett is a practising Professor of Law; he currently teaches on a full-time basis at Texas State University. That said, after building towards this for a number of years, Crossett has taken the momentous decision to bring the teaching gig to a conclusion (after 25 years) at the end of 2025, to embark on a full-time music career, or as he has put it in recent radio interviews, “Running away to join the circus.”

A quick count of previous full-length Crossett releases suggests that “Autumn to August” is his seventh album, the follow up to the 2022 release “In the Company of a Song“. Featuring ten self-penned songs, “Autumn to August” has been preceded by a bunch of singles, the pick of these being ‘Refinery Town‘, which Crossett describes as “an ode to Port Arthur, Texas“. It has to be said that this is a good LP representing what has, up until now, been something akin to a side hustle. Listen to ‘Refinery Town’ ‘Refinery Town’.

Sitting firmly at the pop/rock end of the americana spectrum, “Teas and Seas” is the latest release from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Marc Teamaker, who was born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, but is now based in Stamford, Connecticut. Don’t be thinking that its placement at a particular end of the americana genre spectrum prevents “Teas and Seas” being a good listen; it undoubtedly is. It’s a record full of catchy tunes, beautifully arranged and produced, with a sound reminiscent of some of musical genius Todd Rundgren’s output.

Each of the songs here is written by Teamaker, who plays all of the instruments with the exception of the drums; he’s clearly a (multi-) talented chap. Drums were played by Teamaker’s long time collaborator, Jared Nixon. This album is clearly a labour of love for Teamaker, inspired by jaunts across America as well as the tragic loss of his wife; as he puts it “Teas n Seas is a series of love songs for my late wife Kathleen, both experienced and imagined. It’s a kind of conversation with her on various road trips. She’s gone but I’m still batting around ideas with her and it’s like we are writing the songs together.” Particular highlights on the record are ‘Charlotte‘, ‘Sing Song‘ (featuring some really nice guitar playing by Teamaker) and ‘North Dakota’.

Former frontman of americana rock band Cheyenne, singer and songwriter Beau Jennings releases a new album, “Live at The Depot“, which offers a new perspective on some of his songs from recent releases “American Stories Major Chords“, “’Heavy Light” and “The Thunderbird“. This is a live album, recorded on 1st December, 2024 at The Depot in Norman, Oklahoma, an iconic venue, being the former Santa Fe Train Depot in the town. It’s a very worthwhile companion release to the studio albums; whereas the studio versions of the songs feature Jennings’ band The Tigers in rock mode, the live versions here were performed acoustically. It’s sometimes the case that songs can be viewed through a different lens when performed in the live environment and that’s certainly the situation here; the acoustic versions cast a different light on the songs and throw the focus more on to the lyrics, which shine through. Jennings appears to be in his element in the live arena, ably supported by some members of The Tigers, along with guest musicians. Highlights include ‘Norman Nights‘, ‘OK Death Row Blues‘ and ‘Boston Ave’, a particularly moving song about a childhood friend who passed away when both he and Jennings were 14 years old.

For a songwriter, when other noted songwriters cover your songs, that’s quite an accolade. Jim Bruno has written songs that have been recorded by people such as Shawn Colvin, Chuck Prophet, Cliff Eberhardt and Thad Cockrell and for that reason is sometimes referred to as ‘The songwriter’s songwriter.’ Bruno also toured in Colvin’s band. He teaches songwriting skills too and his list of former pupils includes bluegrass star Molly Tuttle. “Strawberry Moon” is the first of Bruno’s releases that includes his new trio, (Jim Bruno Trio) of Jim Barnes on lead guitar and Andrew Sisco on bass. Additionally, guests John Kuntz (mandolin) and Max Hart (keyboards and steel guitar) appear. The “Strawberry Moon” LP is Bruno’s fourth, following on from 2013’s ‘The Patron Saint of Lost Causes‘, ‘Long Story Short‘ in 2017 and ‘Shall We Dance‘ (2019). The record demonstrates Bruno’s songcraft, with all of the songs self-penned (you’d expect that, wouldn’t you?). Listen to ‘Not a Stranger Anymore’.

Irish-born Michael Darcy upped sticks in 2010, leaving his home in County Clare, bound for Toronto, Canada. Following several years of solo touring to build his reputation, Darcy released his debut album, a solo record entitled “Simple Drop of Rain” in 2018, after which he hooked up with a trio of musicians who became the Atlantic Tramps. The newly formed quartet, Michael Darcy & The Atlantic Tramps, went on to issue “Down to the Roots” in July 2022, which was nominated for the award of “Traditional Singer of the Year” at the 18th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2023. Darcy’s latest release, “Homemade“, was recorded and produced at Darcy’s home studio in Paris, Ontario. Darcy taps into the traditional Irish music that he grew up with, while there is also an obvious influence of American songwriters such as John Prine and Guy Clark. “Homemade” is a collection of 12 songs; it’s very much Irish folk music with a North American twist. Opening with ‘Crooked Jack‘, written by Irish writer, balladeer and broadcaster Dominic Behan, the LP also includes seven songs written by Darcy, alongside four traditional songs. Listen to  ‘Wild West Clare’.

Bay City, Michigan, band The Fields release their debut LP “The Fields“. The band claims to carry forward the spirit of roots rock innovators, past and present. The band is a four-piece, its members being Justin O’Kelly, Andy Jeglic, Connor Peil and Josh Sampson. The background to the record has certain parallels with rock band Boston’s 1976 debut, with the album taking more than three years to complete and being recorded in Jeglic’s basement, with the band members recording and producing the record themselves in order to maintain complete creative control. If the record sells in similar numbers to “Boston” then you would expect the band members would be happy indeed (“Boston” has reportedly sold in excess of 20 million copies worldwide). The resulting LP “The Fields” shows that all the hard work and the maintenance of creative control was worthwhile; the band were keen for the album to appeal to people who love the indie folk scene of the mid to late 2000s and they have managed to create something authentic to their Midwestern roots. The sound is a little reminiscent of Scottish band Cosmic Roughriders’ 2000 LP “Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine” in places. It is an enjoyable americana record, with good (catchy) tunes and tight harmonies. Enjoy ‘American Beauty’ here.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Joshua Josué‘s “Beneath the Sand” is his debut full-length release. Josué had a multicultural upbringing and this can be felt in his music; his sound blends americana with Latin folk and rock ‘n’ roll and with Chicano influences; there are nods to artists such as Los Lobos, Richie Valens, Steve Earle and Alejandro Escovedo. An interesting aspect of this album is the cast of musicians playing on the record, including Grammy-winning writer Roly Salley (he wrote the much covered song ‘Killing the Blues‘); Mitch Marine (Dwight Yoakam); Hershel Yatovitz (Chris Isaak) and Steve Berlin (Los Lobos). Recorded at Goat Mountain Recording Studio, an off-grid facility located in the Mojave Desert, near Joshua Tree, California, this is another album that took a while to come to fruition; as Josué puts it “I spent a few years travelling on my motorcycle through Mexico and Central America, playing small bars and cantinas and I began writing the songs for this album at that time.” Josué uses his songs to tell stories; often deeply personal, with lyrics in both English and Spanish. There’s a lot of energy across the album; highlights include ‘Bogart & Me‘, with the accordion giving this a cajun-feel (listen to this and see if you can keep still) and ‘Big Train’.

Finally, a descendant of Acadian heritage, Benoît LeBlanc is a singer songwriter from Montreal, Canada, who has been researching and exploring the music of Louisiana for nearly 50 years, culminating in a fascinating project, “Mô Kouzin Mö Kouzinn” in which he revisits Creole folk, music born in living rooms and on front porches. Of the process, LeBlanc shares “I wanted, by making this record, to bring this music back to life.” LeBlanc has previously recorded six albums of original songs, but for his latest release, he has put together a record that features 27 historical songs that have played an important role in americana musical heritage. Many of the songs are 19th century creole slave songs that go back to the gatherings in Congo Square, New Orleans; a place famous for its influence on the history of African American music, especially jazz. The recordings use instruments similar to those that were used in Haiti and Louisiana when the songs were first performed. Some songs featured have already been recorded by other artists, however in the cases of several songs here, they have never been put on record. This is a powerful record due to the importance of the songs that are featured and their respective places in the evolution of American music. To listen to samples of each of the songs on the album, click here  here