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 or EP we get sent, but we reckon the picks below deserve a nod. Click on the links to hear a song.
Another year, another fine batch of promising new releases to tempt your ears and provide some well-needed distractions. If music really does have charms to soothe the savage breast, here’s hoping one of these fine selections will do the trick. There is a little something for everyone, beginning with Maine-based Doug Kolmar, a seasoned performer who returns with “We’ll Be Fine”. While many of the tracks lean towards contemporary singer-songwriter fare, which Kolmar does very well, there are also a few musical surprises that provide a bit of levity for some of the more serious subject matter being addressed. The album opens quietly with the solo acoustic ‘Walking’ and by the second track, ‘In The Garden’, a mysterious tale of lost love, it’s clear Kolmar is a top-notch writer. A strong, yet subdued delivery makes this an album highlight. The first real surprise comes with ‘Creature Comforts’ and its bouncy Afro-pop rhythms that lend the tune an exotic flavour and serve the whimsical tale perfectly. The horns return on the title track, but this time their subtle presence provide a down-and-low Memphis groove to the proceedings. Kolmar is a thoughtful writer, and the album overflows with his lyrical honesty and clever turns of phrases, as on the sublime ‘Citizen of the World’ where he begins with “I get the urge to travel when I don’t trust my country’s intentions anymore”. Kolmar’s beautifully crafted songs tackle some of today’s current issues, but he does so with warmth and optimism, sung in a gentle, soothing voice. A worthwhile listen.
Led by Chicago music scene veteran Tim Menard, The Menards offer their latest recording, “All By Heart”. Recorded live over a couple of days, the ten-track album contains elements of folk, rock and blues, but is generally grounded in country roots. This live approach showcases the band’s musical prowess and captures their multifaceted talents. The album’s organic feel is aided by a cache of strong songs mainly sung by Menard in a voice that is somewhat reminiscent of Patterson Hood. Highlights include the driving ‘Make Me a Train’, which features some lovely pedal steel and fiddle interplay. ‘My Life’ is a country blues growler, while ‘Lost in New Orleans’ moves along on a tight, swampy groove underscored by some soulful fiddle and passionate vocals, showing a band firing on all cylinders. The final track, perhaps the album’s most irresistible tune, the aptly titled ‘Whistle, Be On My Way’, veers into traditional folk roots territory while riding on a particularly catchy fiddle riff. It’s a jaunty, feel-good number that is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face, and quite possibly, whistling.
Next up is The Rhynes and “Feel So Sure”, the third album from the Somerset-based outfit fronted by Joe Atkinson, who not only impressively wrote all the songs, sings and plays most of the instruments as well. If your listening tastes lean towards endearing melodies, chiming guitars and seamless harmonies, the album is brimming with all of it. The opener ‘Feel So Sure’ introduces the album in grand style with three and a half minutes of bright and bouncy folk-rock and soaring vocals that suggest Teenage Fanclub. ‘Don’t Let Me Go’ shows off the band’s acoustic side to great effect, while pedal steel adds a touch of warm wistfulness to ‘Down and Way Out’, a gentle, piano-based ballad featuring some earnest vocals from Atkinson. While guitars, bass, and drums are at the core, many of the songs are augmented by tasteful flourishes of keyboards, pedal steel, harmonica, and subtle horns that add texture to the music and to keep things interesting. It’s an instantly likeable record that wears its influences on its sleeve but stands out on its own merits.
The Antennas from New York State present their debut album, “Acid Westerns”, containing a selection of mellow, acoustic folk-rock, boosted by airtight harmonies and delivered with easy-going charm. Lead track, ‘I’m Alright’, sets the course with a gently driving acoustic rhythm that slowly builds in intensity with the addition of tasteful electric guitar accompaniment. The band’s charming vocals feature prominently on ‘High Noon’, lending the track a haunting, mysterious feel. The lead vocals don’t come in until about halfway through the song, but by then, the ethereal harmonies and mesmerising melody have done their job. The countrified ‘Done and Dusted’ moves along on an easy groove and features some soulful, gospel-inspired backing vocals to take the song home. Throughout the album, the band doesn’t stray too far from its predominantly mellow vibe, but its warm, cosmic-folk sound is thoroughly engaging, and a perfect Sunday afternoon listen.
Live albums, by their very nature, can be hit-or-miss affairs. When they are done well, though, they can offer an aural snapshot of a magical show. Such is the case with the next two releases. First up, Birmingham’s Dom Glynn & His Sunday Best with “At Green Note”, sixteen tracks recorded over two nights in the cosy confines of said venue that captures the raw energy of their live show. The album follows on the heels of last year’s “Song And Dance Man“, and as Glynn notes, given that his band have changed since that release, it provides a nice summary of how their sound has shifted. Indeed, gone are the fiddle and mostly acoustic arrangements, replaced with an electrified blast of traditional country and rockabilly, and the songs are all the better for it. There’s an obvious nod to Johnny Cash’s Sun Years era, as evidenced by a rollicking version of the album’s only cover, ‘Cocaine Blues’. To Glynn’s credit, his originals sit comfortably with the cover, most notably ‘He Don’t Know The Blues At All’, a ten-minute romp featuring some dexterous Telecaster leads that will dare you to keep up and leave your head spinning when it’s over. It’s a fast-paced and spirited set, but Glynn also shows his ability to handle slower country shuffles like ‘I Loved You, Cigarettes’, where his witty wordplay is also on full display. It may not be Folsom Prison, but it will certainly hold you captive and accomplishes what a good live album should do: make you wish you were there.
From the other side of the pond comes Tylor & The Train Robbers with their career spanning ‘Live’, recorded over two nights at Treefort Music Hall in Boise, Idaho. At twenty-three tracks, this generous offering draws on songs from their entire catalogue, as well as some well-chosen covers by the likes of The Byrds, Tom Petty and Waylon Jennings that fit easily into their setlist of originals. From the start, it’s apparent that the band is a well-oiled machine, and it doesn’t take long for things to start cooking. ‘Skittle Man’ is as perfect an opener as you would want for a live album. After a bit of noodling and warming up, lead singer Tylor Ketchum and the band come barreling out of the chute at full force, a barrage of words and guitars. It’s a great story song that leaves the listener hanging on to every word (and maybe even nodding in agreement at times) as the band flexes its country-rock muscles. Elsewhere, the songs drift between rock, country and swampy blues. The punchy, country-tinged ‘Back The Other Way’ features a driving acoustic rhythm supported by a steady groove by the band, including some sweet pedal steel, while the sentimental ‘Place Like This’ shows off the band’s quieter side. Lyrically, Ketchum is a wonderful storyteller, and The Train Robbers back him up admirably, providing muscle and riffs for the songs to coast on, and restraint on the slower the numbers. If you like your music with a bit of twang, Tylor & The Train Robbers deliver a set of gritty, sweaty roots rock played with invigorating conviction. It’s a fine overview of the band and should tempt new fans to revisit the originals.
A new name to many, Sweden’s Moon Mother deliver “Meadowlands”, an album of atmospheric folk that, much like a Nordic winter, is a dark and foreboding experience, but sprinkled throughout with shimmering light and optimism. The band describes its music as alternative slow rock and dark folk, and it’s certainly an apt description. The album begins strongly with ‘High Houses’, where singer Sara Mehner’s majestic singing and storytelling quickly establishes her as a voice to be reckoned with. The song moves along quietly and powerfully, slowly building in intensity as menacing electric guitar riffs flesh out the sound. Overall, the band’s sound matches Mehner’s deeply poetic and mysterious lyrics perfectly, creating a distinctively moody atmosphere. Most of the songs follow a similar template, slowish, cinematic arrangements incorporating elements of folk, rock, psychedelia and even, as on ‘Be A Forest, Child’, excursions into prog rock. It’s an enchanting, somewhat mystical album, rich with intricate arrangements that reveal more with each listen. Sit back and take in the majestic ‘World In A Glass Jar’ to hear for yourself.
After a decade-plus gap between recordings, Lancashire’s Stuart Warburton returns with “Love, Loss & The Thousand Yard-Stare”, a mostly acoustic affair featuring songs that settle in nicely between folk and country soul. Horns are featured on many of the tracks and create a real Muscle Shoals vibe, despite the lyrical heaviness of some of the songs. In addition to the usual suspects, love, loss and regret, Warburton easily navigates darker material relating to domestic violence and suicide, but does so in a compassionate manner. Highlights include the solo ‘Loose Cannon’, a tender song performed solo concerning living with PTSD that Warburton, himself a veteran, delivers empathetically. There’s also a lovely duet with Bella Nugent, ‘This Love’, a sweet-sounding country duet about enduring love. Things lighten up a bit on the final track, ‘Some Other Night’, where Warburton displays a cheeky sense of humour with lines such as “Grey in my remaining hair shows the world I’m not the youth I once was / But I think it all works down there, at least I think it does”.
Last, but not least, comes “Medicine Wheel” by Tennessean Scotty Melton, a bare-bones acoustic album produced by the ubiquitous Thomm Jutz and featuring contributions from Tammy Rogers and Finn Goodwin-Bain. Melton, whose pedigree includes songwriting with the late Justin Townes Earle, occupies a similar place in the folk country world. With songs full of unadorned honesty, the minimalist approach to recording works wonderfully as Melton’s gruff, yet poignant voice wrings all the emotion out of his sober narratives. In a style reminiscent of some of the great folk troubadours, where less is more, the no-frills production and minimalist approach, where the songs are slightly embellished with sympathetic additions of fiddle, banjo and piano, place the spotlight solely on the songs and the singer, and here it works well here. The album is rife with great songs: standouts include the menacing ‘Straight To Hell’, an ominous tale of greed that includes the hard-hitting line “And the wings of time are flying / And Mother Earth is dying / Everything man touches / Goes straight to hell”. Melton’s weathered, sometimes shaky voice, evoking a young Dylan at times, sounds lived in, lending the song a devastating weight. The poignant ‘A Spring Waltz’ glides along on a sweet, lilting melody underscored with touches of fiddle and is all the more affecting coming right after the aforementioned track. Melton’s tender delivery, leading to the refrain “Your Love Will See Me Home”, provides the necessary balm to counter the heaviness of the previous track. Not flashy, but no less impactful.
