Martyn Joseph – This is What I Want to Say
Martyn Joseph has a forty year journey of writing, recording and performing
songs. What does the songwriter of hundreds of songs want to say? ‘My last album, 1960, was about looking back and taking stock, the kind of reflection many or us found ourselves in during lockdown. It was all the more acute for performers like me, people used to being on the road, used to moving on… suddenly we couldn’t move on’.
In the two years since his last record, which reflected more than is usual on the story of his personal life, things have now been thrown into sharper focus. Joseph lost his father, become a grandfather and even a father again. These events concentrated Joseph’s thoughts, distilling them into seven words that don’t even make it into a lyric on one of the eleven new songs – but may be the key to unlocking all of them: ‘This Is What I Want To Say.’
If the Welsh singer-songwriter’s work has always been freighted with a fragile hope, a vulnerable faith, a defiant love, those elements are present in two tracks that virtually bookend the new album: “Folding” and “You’re Still Here”. As in several other tracks, Joseph’s familiar burnt-honey vocal and experienced guitar skills are augmented by the haunting cello of Liz Hanks. This is an album which suggests life’s existential signposts are an invitation to stop and notice the passing of time – and a reminder that there’s plenty to be thankful for. (“Grateful” and “It’s a Fine Thing”). Songs for the modern world. Love. Place. Longing. Welcome. Thanks… What else does the artist want to say? ‘Maybe that we can always find hope, even in all this fear,’ says Joseph. ‘Amidst these vast contradictions there is still common ground…….’ Simply profound.
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Niall McCabe- Rituals
Singer songwriter Niall McCabe has performed extensively with his folk-soul group The Niall McCabe Band, over the past decade. An accomplished finger-style guitar player, Niall has been lending his unique voice to Irish trad-fusion band Beoga, while also playing support for Ed Sheeran, Foy Vance and Johnnyswim, and more recently opening for Chris Isaak and Mary Black.
Niall McCabe has produced a captivating body of work. With self-effacing humour and stories told of growing up on a remote Irish island, he possesses an effortless charm and like the wild Atlantic landscape of his Clare Island home. His songs feel timeless and natural, belying the dense shaping of a dynamic creative force. Deft, intricate guitar work brings a lightness to the weight of island isolation with the sound, soul and stories of McCabe’s life and experiences breathing a deep cultured sense of discernment through his vocals. Distinctive.
www.facebook.com/niallmccabemusic
Grey DeLisle – She’s an Angel
Produced by Deke Dickerson and Eddie Clendening, who both play on the album, She’s An Angel also features iconic musicians DJ Bonebrake (Lone Justice, X,) on vibes, Bernie Dresel (Brian Setzer) on drums & T. Jarrod Bonta (Charley Crockett/ Jimmie Vaughan) on piano, among many others. It’s the singer-songwriter and autoharp player’s first original full-length album in two decades, with 14 songs, all written or co-written by DeLisle, with the exception of Billy Vera’s ‘I Really Got The Feeling’, originally written for Dolly Parton.
This album is what you want in a country album: unique phrasing, down home philosophies, some sass, some wild wisdom and a little bit of humour. There’s a bit of Patsy Cline/Loretta Lynn and Tammy Winette in there and its chock full of that all-too familiar style of international country music. Torch song, country twang, and sass and humour fill the album. Cash-like, if you get me. Fun fact: she voiced Daphne in later Scooby Doo and was in many other cartoons like The Flintstones, characters from Batman. Characterful.
www.facebook.com/GreyDeLisleGriffinOfficial
Nick Harte & Tom Moore – The Colour of Amber
After many years of collaborating in various guises, late last year saw the release of the highly anticipated first duo album from Nick Hart and Tom Moore. It’s a collection of traditional songs and tunes brought vividly to life with viola, viola da gamba and voice. Folk aficionados will be familiar with the work of both acclaimed players. If I had a second album of the month, this would be it.
The album showcases the deep understanding these two artists have of the historical material and their synergy is palpable throughout. Recorded live in the room with very little arrangement, these ten tracks invite their audience to listen in on something being brought to life anew, with variations being teased out of the songs and tunes at every turn. The unusual combination of Tom’s viola and Nick’s tenor viol, augmented by drones and basses from an old church harmonium, creates a rich and fascinating set of textures. The four instrumental
tracks see Tom taking the lead, with Nick’s viol shadowing and underpinning his stronger melodic lines, while in the six songs featured, Tom’s viola moves delicately around the vocal, creating delicious counterpoints to the melody. The result is an absorbing exploration of English music by two master players, whose sensitivity and musicianship is in evident abundance. Historic!
https://www.nickhartmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nickharttommoore/?locale=en_GB
Malcolm MacWatt – Dark Harvest
Scottish folk-Americana singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist mixes Americana with British folklore, uncovering the past to explore contemporary issues. As a multi-instrumentalist, Dark Harvest displays the Appalachian and Celtic influences that underpin MacWatt’s music. With the exception of piano, he plays almost all the instrumentation on the album, with much of the ornamentation being improvised at the moment of recording. From the opening song ‘Strong Is The North Wind’ to the closer ‘Semi Scotsman’, MacWatt lays out his personal politics and beliefs with sensitivity and compassion, and without apology. As the album title suggests, this is a sombre collection of songs gleaned from the shady side of history with underlying themes of karma and repercussion. While the lyrics speak of horror, violence and oppression, there’s also heroism, bravery and love, all delivered with beautiful melodies and a delicate touch.
Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, MacWatt has a deep respect for tradition and heritage, but considers himself a contemporary folk artist. “Folk music isn’t stuck in the past”, he says. “It’s constantly being written and rewritten, and while I throw a little light onto certain historical events, I’m also trying to create new stories and songs that reflect life today.” Now isn’t that progressive, eh?!
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Session Americana – The Rattle and the Clatter
An apt name for an election year……Session Americana had its first jam around a table in the back of Toad in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Looking back, the group has had a natural, almost inevitable evolution from a loose bunch of friends sitting around swapping songs in a bar, to a hot-ticket weekly residency, to a touring collective. Featuring contributions from the likes of Anaïs Mitchell, Kris Delmhorst, Laura Cortese, Jefferson Hamer and Dietrich Strause, the current line-up is Billy Beard, Jon Bistline, Ry Cavanaugh, Dinty Child and Jim Fitting
A 20-year retrospective album, The Rattle and The Clatter features sixteen of the band’s most popular songs. I like this Boston Globe description: “Session Americana comes up with some gems, full of folk’s honesty and rock’s urgency.” Vintage American roots music styles — from country to jazz to rock — are used in a rowdy but deft fashion. Lively.
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Ciaran Ryan Band – Occupational Hazards
Already a veteran performer having toured the worlds stages for a decade, predominantly as a founding member of world-folk band Dallahan and as a highly sought after session musician, Ciaran Ryan is quietly becoming recognised as one of the foremost tenor banjo players the UK has ever produced. His prolific writing and stage experience helps him write and perform all-original music, loosely grown out of his traditional Irish music upbringing with a nod towards the idioms of American folk music, rock and even more.
Joined by Donald Hay (drums), Bev Morris (bass), Chris Waite (guitar) and Andrew Waite (accordion, keys) they succeed in achieving the pure, raw, live sound. Irish roots succumb to rock with flashes of pop and post-punk. It’s remarkable that it keeps the intention – so difficult for a full-on instrumental album, tenor banjo and according in the limelight. Twenty-one melodies feature in 9 tracks, with only three externally composed. It’s a firm statement of Celtic folk, and an assurance that it is in good future hands. Raw.
https://www.ciaranryanmusic.com/
Spirit of Progressive Rock 