
Welcome back to our monthly round-up of the best new EP releases that fall within the Americana music genre. To kick the new year off we have a brand new batch of musical treats for you to explore, high in both quantity and quality, with established stars such as Todd Snider, and Eric Brace, rubbing shoulders with up-and-coming artist Eric Hagen and Kirsten Adamson as well as exciting new names such as Clover County. So with no further ado let’s get stuck in.
Now if I’d remembered to write Santa a wish list for Christmas right at the top would have been a new album from Eric Hagen, so impressed was I with his most recent release “Revival”(2023). As it is, this new five-track EP “Americana Lonesome”, will certainly do for now, full to the brim with all the qualities that mark Hagen out as one of the finest singer-songwriters to emerge on the scene for many years. His evocative vocals are pure blue-eyed soul, think Chris Stapleton, or for those of us of a certain vintage, a young Gregg Allman, while the heartfelt narrative oozes authenticity and integrity, even as the subject matter skulks in the shadows, impassioned and yet sinister, disconcerting and yet beguiling all at the same time. Pick of this top quality bunch are probably ‘Deja Vu’, and ‘Accuse Me’, that both encompass much of what Hagen is about, and following on from last year’s excellent EP “Memories Don’t Love You Back”, should help propel him to the top table of the current crop of singer-songwriters. “Americana Lonesome”, comes highly recommended.
Next up is the excellent six-track debut EP “Porch Light”, from a female singer-songwriter who goes by the name of Clover County. Having grown up beneath the sunny skies of Central Florida, the name Clover County was chosen to reflect all the places she would end up calling home, from Orlando to Denver, Atlanta to Birmingham and eventually Athens, and represents a state of mind that “no matter where your planted, you have the choice to grow”. Having chosen to promote her singing and songwriting the old-fashioned way through open mic nights and backyard shows Clover County has rapidly built a strong following around the Athens area. Her songs draw from a broad palette of influences mixing folk with traces of indie rock, while her poetry has enough integrity and intensity to add substance to the sweetness that occasionally permeates the melody and conjures up comparison to Anais Mitchell in vocal delivery. There’s not a weak track on offer here, from opening number ‘Limbo’, to closer ‘Ultraviolet’ every song connects and remains in the subconscious for hours. On this evidence it is only a matter of time before the name Clover County is on everybody’s lips and “Porch Light”, also comes highly recommended.
There are but only a few artists over the last three decades to be held in such high reverence amongst the East Nashville singer-songwriter circle than Todd Snider. Now with his first career-spanning vinyl box set, celebrating a thirty-year career, selling out within forty-eight hours of its release, a bonus four-song digital-only companion EP entitled “Best Of All My Songs” has been made available. The tracks here are made up of two radio edit singles from the box set, ‘Can’t Complain’, and ‘Beer Run’, both of which highlight Sniders’ mastery of the personally lived-in songwriting craft. However, it is his storytelling that takes precedence on the last two numbers with two live recording of never-before-released stories from his legendary career. Sniders’ between song storytelling during live shows is legendary, and are often drawn from his own life’s experiences. Where other artists fill the void between songs and re-tuning guitars with what can be politely described as ‘banter’, Sniders’ stories become an integral part of the show, regularly leaving his audiences rolling in the aisles. The two tracks here are perfect examples with nearly ten minutes of ‘The Banana Story’, and over sixteen minutes of ‘The Jerry Jeff Walker Story (Mr Bojangles)’, guaranteed to keep you laughing until the proverbial cows come home.
Hopeville are a six-piece band fronted by vocalist and guitarist Lisa Harrington that hail from the small village of Batcombe, Somerset who have built a strong following performing at local festivals, clubs and music venues with their brand of blues-infused country music. Their new five-track EP entitled “Rag Girl”, finds the band working with a broad palette making full use of harmonica and 5 string banjo alongside the twin guitars, keyboard and rhythm section that helps inject the songs with an infectious backbeat. Pick of the five tracks here are the opening title track, where some excellent banjo playing jousts with the guitars, while the harmonica wails a lonesome cry, and the atmospheric ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’, that sees Harringtons distinctive vocals to the fore. Collectively “Rag Girl”, is a strong offering that should see Hopeville expand their following across the UK.
Perennial favourite here at AUK, Eric Brace & Last Train Home has just released a new three-track EP entitled “Used Songs For Sale”, that sees the band putting their own stamp on a trio of their favourite songs. Two of the numbers are well known, such as the Bee Gees pop-soul classic from 1967, ‘To Love Somebody’, that has been given a country flavour with the addition of some excellent Pedal Steel guitar from Dave Van Allen that seamlessly weaves its way between the horn section and harmonica, helping to give this frequent encore number at live shows a delightful subtle twist. Another familiar track is The Tramps’ 1972 classic ‘Hold Back The Night’, that many will know from Graham Parker & The Rumours version from 1977. Here Brace and his band play homage to both, delivering all the soulfulness of the original along with the intensity and energy of Parker’s rendition. However, of most interest here is the lesser-known number ‘Places That Are Gone’, that opens up proceedings. This song first came out in 1984 as the title track to an EP released by Tommy Keene, who was a big name in the Washington DC area during the 1980’s and seemed destined for big things. Alas stardom never materialised for Keene, who sadly passed away in 2017, with this track remaining his best known and best loved song. Keene was clearly a major influence on a young Brace, and that respect resonates through this heartfelt sonic reinvention that includes some sublime backing vocals from RobinAugust. Lovely stuff.
Having already carved out a reputation as one Chicago’s finest blues guitarists-for-hire, over the last decade, Nathan Graham released his debut album “Saint Of Second Chances” in 2023 to high praise, including here at AUK, where our very own Michael Macy waxed lyrically over its merits, rating it a lofty 9/10. This follow-up four track EP entitled “The Way Through”, finds Graham reimagining two tracks from his debut release along with two new full-band numbers, by disposing of the electric instrumentation synonymous with his trade mark soulful blues strain of Americana, and replacing them with piano, upright bass, acoustic guitar and a string quartet. The result is something of a mixed bag with first track ‘Pride’, barely recognisable from the song that opened last years album, the piano lead tempo slowed to a crawl with only Graham’s soulful vocals giving a clue to the song’s original presentation. Things work much better on ‘Somebody Else’, with its more laidback demeanour suiting the arrangement, where the string quartet gently supports the acoustic guitar. The two new numbers have no previous, thus making it easier to listen without drawing comparison, but although ‘I Know’, and ‘Make Me No King’, are both enjoyable numbers, one can’t help but feel they would both benefit from the injection of energy that an electric band format would offer. The brave decision to present these tracks with an alternative/acoustic stringed arrangement should be applauded, but in-truth they probably don’t play to Graham’s strengths.
“Wildflowers” is the debut six track EP from Midlands based five piece WLDFLWRS, that consist of Katherine Abbott (acoustic guitar, vocals,) Jack Blackman (guitar, vocals), Wes Finch (bass, vocals), Chris Quirk (drums, vocals), and Jono Wright (guitar, vocals). The EP opens with the title track, a lovely a cappella appetiser that barely lasts twenty-five seconds, but works as an ideal intro to the EP’s strongest number ‘Best Company’. The band cite the sun-drenched seventies Laurel Canyon music scene among their influences and the joint male/female lead vocals here works well against the driving beat of the twin guitars, while the addition of the banjo adds a delightful touch of colour and depth to the sound. Tom Petty is another obvious touchstone with both ‘MXD MSSG’, and ‘Heavy Weather’, drawing heavily on the great man’s distinctive sound, possibly a little too heavily on the former with the joint male/female lead vocals coming way too close to Petty and Stevie Nick’s ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, for comfort, while the latter’s opening riff and slide playing is very Mick Campbell, as are the vocals, though the addition of the horn section helps to keep things interesting. Closing number ‘Sky/Ground’, inhabits a distinctly folkier sound with an acoustic intro that gradually adds layers of instrumentation but without any true sense of purpose, direction or identity. To these ears WLDFLWRS sound is best suited to the AOR rock of the seventies as displayed on ‘Best Company’, and more songs like that would certainly make them a band to look out for.
Following on from his critically acclaimed 2023 released album “An Evening At Macri Park”, Seán Barna presents a new five-track EP entitled “Internal Trembling”. Unlike the more rock inclinations of the previous album this EP is shorn of any glamour, instead delivered here in an acoustic bluegrass setting that highlights all the honesty and vulnerability within his powerful and emotive narratives, drawing much of its inspiration from a period spent living and visiting the most remote and beautiful parts of rural western Colorado. Standout track among five high-quality numbers is “Wallflower”, which features Mirah on guest vocals, and is his eulogy to five lives tragically lost to gunfire while enjoying an evening out at a gay bar in Colorado Springs back in November 2022. Barna, is himself, no stranger to the queer nightlife and felt this senseless act of violence as deeply as any, and after taking time to process the pain, wrote this intensely animated and intimate song as a mournful celebration to those whose lives were lost. Other highlights include the fiddle-drenched ‘Jack Rabbit Hill’, that features bluegrass supergroup Hawktail that among others includes Paul Kowert and Brittany Haas, both of the Punch Brothers, while opening number ‘Firefly’, that replaces the bluegrass for some driving folk pop courtesy of a collaboration with Brooklyn based producer Kyle Joseph is another beautiful number. One can only hope that this foray into a more striped-back acoustic approach to songwriting from Barna becomes a regular occurrence as on this evidence this format is a perfect fit for his visceral poetry.
Originally from Waco, Texas, JD Hinton has been based in Los Angeles for many years where his multifaceted career has seen him work as a late night Disc Jockey for a highly rated R&B radio station, to numerous acting roles on television and film. However, he is also an excellent singer-songwriter with one album, along with several EP releases, already to his credit. His most recent offering is this five-track EP entitled ‘Traveler’, that inhabits a similar musical landscape to that of fellow Texan, and all round Americana music legend Dave Alvin, in particular the graphic narrative style that turns songs into mini-movies. All five tracks here are well worth getting to know, in particular opening track ‘The Other Side’, with its sagacious poetry drawing positive comparison to the great Tom Russell, along with the joyous ‘Your Him’, while ‘Exile In Madrid’, is storytelling of the highest order. It may seem rather bold to mention Hinton in the same breath as such luminaries as Alvin and Russell, but on the evidence of the five tracks that make up this EP, it is more than merited, and should put him on the radar for any fan of Texas singer-songwriters.
As usual I’ve chosen to leave the EP that has impressed me the most until last, though to be honest the standard has been so high that at least five of these contenders would have been first choice on any other month. However the recipient of that accolade goes to Kirsten Adamson and her new four-track EP “Paint With The Colours”, that follows on from her award-winning sophomore album “Landing Place”, (2023). This new release is actually the first of what will be a series of three EP’s, that will become available at three-month intervals between now and May, with a new full-length album entitled “Dreamviewer”, produced by Joe Harvey-White scheduled for the Autumn. The title track opens this current offering and immediately set the mood with strummed acoustic guitars, melancholic piano and exquisite vocals telling a tale of star-crossed lovers. Adamson’s vocals have often been compared to such classic vocalists as Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and even Kate Bush, but to these ears a more current comparison would be Courtney Marie Andrews, with a similar sense of purity in the delivery. The nostalgic ‘Grandfather’s Accordion’, written after inheriting the instrument from her grandfather keeps the focus close to home, followed by ‘In Your Arms’, its opening line tipping its hat to Tom Waits before blossoming into a timeless heartbreaker with its lyrical narrative full of barbed poetry such as “If I dreamed of a lover it wouldn’t be you”. Personal favourite is the closing track ‘Halfway To Buffalo’, inspired by a combination of the band Buffalo Springfield and an old Barbara Keith song ‘Detroit or Buffalo’, with the sparseness of the arrangement the perfect conduit for the achingly beautiful vocals, delivered as if lost in thought, with the listener accidentally eavesdropping, transfixed, unable to turn away. With “Paint With The Colours”, Adamson hasn’t just stepped out from the giant shadow cast by her father, into the spotlight, she now owns the stage, with her own songs, her own identity, and her own sublime vocals. One suspects that 2025 is going to be the year Kirsten Adamson becomes a star in her own right, and I’m sure a very proud father will be looking down.