rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Blues is music of emotion, at its very core are emotions of loss, sadness and heartbreak, but over the decades that this seemingly simple genre has refused to sit still, it has taken on lots of different guises. Rock is based around its three-chord structure with mighty bands such as AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac and ZZ... Continue Reading →
Albums made up of purely instrumental music have a tougher job on their hands than those who add lyrical content, simply because lyrics are, without sounding rude, a distraction. Most people like a song or love an album because of the connection that they have with its words, the message, the literary landscape. An instrumental... Continue Reading →
The term R&B has come to mean something new in the last few decades, the term perhaps conjuring images of girl groups, lip-synching to rootsy pop songs, more concerned with dance routines than music. But it used to mean something else. The clue is in the name. Rhythm. And. Blues. And it is that more... Continue Reading →
Move over Southside Johnny, here comes West Side Joe! And like his peer, WSJ and his Men of Soul, also trade in an upbeat and euphoric blend of Soul, R&B and Rock 'n' Roll. And why not? It's a style that never goes out of fashion, not with the true music aficionados and discerning sonic... Continue Reading →
Lyrically running on a blues tradition, Solo takes the "since my baby left me" cliche and turns it on its head. For Solo is not the usual maudlin, self-pitying ballad that is the usual result after such events but rather a celebration of freedom. Less a chance to moan about the situation, more a chance... Continue Reading →
If the last couple of singles from Eddy Mann have highlighted his deft and delicate side, his ability to lay back and spin some fantastic sentiments, I Remember, shows a slightly different aspect. Not that it doesn't ooze with his clever songwriting and attention to detail, it is just that this time out, the initial... Continue Reading →
Often, the term “Americana” is used to describe an amalgam of sounds which when fashioned together result in songs which echo with the quintessential vibe of the United States. Forest Sun takes this a stage further and his latest album, his tenth to date, is a series of songs, each inspired by and infused with... Continue Reading →
In a world were easy labels and generic pigeon-holes still seem important to many people, the terms “Outsider Americana” and “Chicagoana,” not my terms but the artist’s own musical shorthand, are both perfectly apt for what this veteran singer-songwriter does.... Read the full review at The Big Takeover
Blues seems to have become so slick and unconnected from its roots theses days that when something raw, something delivered with such passion, comes along, it seems to almost be from a different world…or a different genre at least. Blues never was about guys in Armani suits playing to stadium crowds for bucket loads of... Continue Reading →
As Cody Lee struts his way towards the “new normal” he reflects on the past and speculates about exactly what the future holds but does so in a wonderfully vague and non-committal sort of way. This is after all an anthem, a funky groover which is more about slogans and sing-alongs than providing any real... Continue Reading →
The neat trick that Harry Stafford seems to pull off is that whilst he sounds slightly like a few other artists, the artists that he sounds like sound like nobody else. Not even him! I’m not even sure that’s possible but its the only way that I can describe it. I could list the most... Continue Reading →
If you are not enchanted by Ingraham’s gorgeous, crystalline voice right from the start then head straight for the Accident and Emergency department of your local hospital, there is something seriously wrong with your heart. And with most of the music going on behind her being tastefully stripped back and delicately woven around, you have... Continue Reading →
Some things you never tire of. Aviator shades, good manners, great cheese, Zooey Deschanel and groovesome bluesy, rock and roll. Okay, Blind Side might not exactly be running with current fad or fashion but that’s the point isn’t it? Some things don’t have to worry about which way the Zeit is Geisting, some things just... Continue Reading →
Many people have tried to sell the blues to me and I don’t seem to get it. Admittedly it's a broad genre and it is probably just that I haven’t heard the right artist, though I have had everything from Robert Johnson’s voodoo acoustic tones to Joe flippin’ Bonna-flippin’ Massa (repeatedly) thrown at me and... Continue Reading →
I love an album to open with some oomph, to be unashamed of giving the listener a kick in the pants and forcing them to sit up and take notice, some of my favourite albums have belting opening tracks and New York’s Annie Keating does this on her new ‘mini album’ Can’t Stand Still with... Continue Reading →
Anyone who Eddie Spaghetti describes in such enthusiastic tones as “raw, real and passionate…and boy, do we need Mr Todd and his Rankoutsiders, now more than ever,” is someone I will automatically take notice of. But as album reviews go I should probably write a bit more to convince those who, unlike me, probably don’t... Continue Reading →
As someone who spends their time scribbling about grassroots, underground and left field music, I tend to have a fairly good feel for the music that lands in my review pile, even before hearing a single note. A combination of the artwork, the title, the label or PR company who sent it or just the... Continue Reading →
As much as I love intricate, sweeping and clever music, sometimes you can’t beat a low slung guitar, a basic proto-punk-blues beat and some stripped back lyrics. And it doesn’t get more stripped backed than Leathers. Four songs, two guys and pretty much one groove. All four songs found on this eponymous ep seem variations... Continue Reading →
Multi-Award-winning American Blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Samantha Fish returns for a nationwide UK tour in May 2019. Tickets will go on sale on Friday 2nd November via http://www.alttickets.com/samantha-fish-tickets. The tour coincides with Samantha’s new studio album to be released in early 2019 which is the follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2017 albums Belle of the... Continue Reading →
Blues has always been a good vehicle for delivering a message of pain and heartache. It’s also been a good vehicle for spawning new ways of doing things, it being the birth place of so many subsequent genres - rock ’n’ roll, rock, punk and everything that followed are all based on its methods. Armed... Continue Reading →
Is there such a thing as holistic music? Is all music holistic? Is it something that the creator decides or is it up to the listener to designate it as such? Is it just another meaningless journalistic handle used by broken down scribblers looking for a neat way to get into a review? Okay, I’m... Continue Reading →
Here’s a question for you. If a truck carrying a back catalogue of 50’s rock’n’roll and blues records heading west at 60 miles per hour collided with a truck carrying 60’s garage rock and later punk records heading east travelling at 45 miles per hour, what noise would be forthcoming at the point of impact?... Continue Reading →
Well, you can’t say that this isn’t a funky piece of work. Bluesy rock and roll, bursting at the seams with infectious grooves, ear-worm riffs, classic rock and roll swagger and a simple message. The message is that the world is an adventure waiting for you to sign up and see where it takes you.... Continue Reading →
Driving music is no new concept, songs that act as the soundtrack to a road trip, music to seek adventure to, four wheeled party tunes, we are all familiar with how that works. And whilst this great little bluesy-country-rock piece from Terry Derosier falls into that category, its actually a bit more than that. Actually,... Continue Reading →
I’m going to break out one of my go-to and possibly made up words now. Ready? Groovesome! I’m not sure if you will find it in the dictionary but it is exactly the right word for Izzy The Cat’s blend of funky and infectious blues. Instrumentals they may be but his songs are proof positive that... Continue Reading →
Books and covers…I never learn. Then again you have to hold the band responsible to some degree. If they offer up a cover of themselves dressed like a crazed Mariachi band from The Three Amigos, conclusions are going to be jumped to. Thankfully what lies within is miles away from the image conjured by the... Continue Reading →
That will teach me to jump to conclusions, to judge books by their covers…or at least songs by their titles. Anytime I see slang words such as “Da” in a title I immediately brace myself for impact by another modern rapper going through the testosterone fulled motions of self-aggrandisement and playing up to stereotypes. Boy... Continue Reading →
The Judex is less a band, more a collection of contradictions, a whirling mass of opposites that somehow have managed to attract and believe me when I say that they are like few rock bands that have crossed your path, if they had, you would have remembered. The titles of the tracks alone tell you... Continue Reading →
Country music has a habit of taking itself a bit seriously, all those over-earnest, brooding acoustic guitar slingers singing of unrequited love, darker times and driving off into the sunset. And that’s fine, there is obviously a market for such a style. Rock music is often troubled with testosterone fuelled cliche, though which is less... Continue Reading →
Even if I didn’t rate the music you have to love a band with a name like The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer, doubly so once you find out that their current album is called Apocalipstick! Thankfully I do rate their music. A lot. They make exactly the sort of vintage music for the modern... Continue Reading →