Fans of the late Dan Hick’s unique take on swing music will surely approve of this latest offering from Floating World Records. Although billed as a live show from 1973, the disc actually comprises of eight songs recorded for a radio broadcast in 1973 along with a further nine recorded in 2009, again for a radio broadcast. While the early songs are all a hoot it’s the latter set which is the icing on the cake here, portraying Hicks a little longer in the tooth perhaps, his voice older but still swell and with his sense of humour fully intact. In fact, much of the joy to be had here is in Hick ..read more

This entertaining and, at times, beguiling, bluegrass duo unveiled Upside Down, their latest album, at a celebrated Celtic Connections show back in January. That’s been more than enough time for this reviewer to get to know the album so here’s our thoughts on what is, in essence, quite a delightful listen. Composed of Julia Zech on banjo and vocals and Pierce Black, double bass and vocals, the pair are joined by another duo, Rain Of Animals’ Pepita Emmerichs and Theodore Barnard (both bands have shared the stage on their recent tours) who add their voices, mandolin, violin and guitar to the o ..read more

For all the acclaim we accord (and rightly so) to American musicians who mine the rich loam of the south, the tales and traditions, the history, sound and even feel of the muddy Mississippi and the swamplands, it’s gratifying to hear a home grown musician burrowing into those self same tales with grit and determination along with a real sense of authenticity. And so it is that John Alexander’s latest album, Face The Wind, deserves to be considered alongside albums by the likes of Rodney Crowell, Ray Wylie Hubbard along with Robbie Robertson’s first solo outing. Face The Wind is replete with a ..read more

Best known amongst Americana fans for the two albums he released with Gene Clark in the late 1960s (The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark and Through the Morning, Through the Night) Doug Dillard was an exemplary banjo player who had first found fame of sorts with his brother Rodney in The Dillards. Tagged as hillbillies via TV shows such as The Andy Griffith (where they regularly appeared, under the name of “The Darlings”) Doug Dillard was drawn to the newer sounds coming out of Los Angeles leading to his leaving the band and hooking up with Clark. Their first album is now considere ..read more

Despite having nine albums under their belt, Session Americana are not a band whose name is likely to trip off the lips in conversation. A shame really as this collective, originally formed around informal jam sessions in a pub in Massachusetts in 2003, have recorded with several well known performers such as Anais Mitchell, Kris Delmhorst, Laura Cortese and Jefferson Hamer (all of whom appear on this album). The Rattle And The Clatter is a retrospective collection, a best of if you wish, which plucks 16 songs from their nine albums so far (with a new one in the offing). The album title comes ..read more

It seems like eons ago that Blabber’n’Smoke first became aware of Scott Ashworth, a singer songwriter currently residing somewhere around Falkirk who, over the past year or so has released a steady trickle of songs in a lengthy run up to this, his debut album. Singer songwriter perhaps does him an injustice as several of these songs were far removed from the solitary pose one expects from such a description. The first one we recall hearing was The Ghost, a fine slice of gothic Americana, peopled with, well ghosts, and accompanied by some superb spectral pedal steel and cavernous drumming. We ..read more

So, what’s a ceilidh band doing here in the American –roots music infused pages of Blabber’n’Smoke? Much of it is down to simple intrigue. Skyrie, who recently performed at Celtic Connections’ Danny Kyle stage might play traditional Scots music but two of their members have what might be termed rock’n’roll backgrounds playing with acts as diverse as Nazareth, Big Country and Shirley Manson of Garbage. The band are composed primarily of a trio, Lesley Thompson Smith on fiddle and whistle, Jimmy Anderson on guitar and bass, and Chris Smith on drums and bodhran, but often play live with an expan ..read more

Loose Music have long proved themselves dab hands at discovering emerging American artists and releasing their albums over here in the UK. They’re no slouches however when it comes to home grown talent and their latest discovery, Norwich based Brown Horse, shows that they still have their ear to the ground. The band, a six piece outfit, are grounded in the classic sounds of 1990s alt country. Listening to the album recalls days listening to off kilter songs by the likes of Granfaloon Bus, The Silver Jews and Clem Snide, or indeed, Loose Music’s own early sampler albums which were instrumental ..read more

After his epic (and hugely rewarding) series of releases which dug deep into the sounds and legends of the American south west wilderness, aided by Calexico and other luminaries of the Tucson scene, Dean Owens returns to his own roots on Pictures, an album suffused with memories and personal reflections. It’s a welcome reminder that Owens, prior to his immersion into the torrid and dramatic Sonoran desert landscape, is equally as able to summon up the windswept romance of the Lothian hills and the daily grit of growing up in Leith, both detailed here with a huge sense of affection, almost ros ..read more

Glasgow’s no stranger to witnessing the odd bout of bickering between married couples and so it was that an almost sold out crowd crammed into the Southside’s Glad Café to welcome back our favourite marital sparring partners, My Darling Clementine, in anticipation of what we used to call, “a good clean fight.” Lou Dalgleish and Michael Weston King, the two warring elements of My Darling Clementine, have long proved to be one of the UK’s favourite acts, taking the long held premise that country music can’t abide a happy pairing and transforming that into a hugely entertaining show. It helps of ..read more