Stereo Naked. Upside Down.

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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 overall mix.

We mentioned bluegrass earlier and it was via the bluegrass scene in Cologne (yes, there’s a bluegrass scene in Cologne) that Zech and Pierce met (she’s a native Cologner and he’s from New Zealand – a situation reflected in the album’s antipodean title) but the band are not so much your back porch exponents, fitting more neatly in a “newgrass” style while their lyrics can be whimsical, quizzical or just downright strange. This is best exemplified on Concrete Mountain, an odd conjunction of jazzy guitar notes, pizzicato fiddles and massed voices which seems to be a nod to ecological awareness but which also contains a lyrical reference to the Circle Jerks song When The Shit Hits The Fan which featured on the Repo Man soundtrack.

They open with a much airier number, Labour Of Love with Black’s pulsating bass prominent until Emmerichs’ fiddle appears. The harmonies are spot on as the song soars to its end. More down home is Square One as the fiddle and banjo saw away while Blue Light Antics is the most traditional sounding number as Black delivers this fleet footed tale of getting pulled over by the law. Zech takes lead vocals on Old Flame, a portrait of a doomed relationship although, later on, she’s also the lead on the wonderfully bustling Hold On To Your Love which is a tad more optimistic while allowing the band the best opportunity to flex their musical muscles on a brief instrumental break which is quite thrilling.

The album ends on a high note with Sun And Moon, a farewell song of sorts, an Auf Wierdersehen to be precise. As it huffs and wheezes its way one is reminded of The Incredible String Band as Black and Zech join together on a song which celebrates togetherness no matter how long we are parted. They may be idiosyncratic but Stereo Naked deliver some wonderful moments on the songs here.

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John Alexander. Face The Wind

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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 an ominous darkness, danger lurking around every corner. Alexander’s voice is redolent of doomsayers, weighed with gravity for the most part as he prowls through the songs accompanied by some superb guitar picking, be it acoustic flurries or evil sounding electric slide. The album opens on a relatively mellow note with Bullets In The Rain, a gorgeous song which ripples with regret just as the guitars ripple and twist throughout. It’s a folk like song, somewhat akin to a mix of Townes Van Zandt and Lowell George with Alexander’s voice perfectly complemented by the vocal harmonies from Iona MacDonald (of Doghouse Roses). MacDonald appears again on the eerie frostbitten Living To Stay Alive and on the rough hewn country rock rumble of White Noise.

Throughout the album Alexander digs deep into dark Americana vibes. One can see why several of his songs have been grabbed up by several television series looking to add atmosphere and mood to their offerings. A perfect example is to heard on Don’t Start A War, an apocalyptic number with ominous percussion and flailing guitars. Even more ominous is the slow creep of Blood In The Water but amidst this doom and gloom Alexander, while not exactly lightening the mood, moves on from his Neil Young like sojourn in the ditch to provide several songs which are more supple. Face The Wind recalls the early days of John Martyn while Fault And Blame is a finger licking and finger picking dark country blues song. The album ends with the delightful This Side Of The Glass, an almost upbeat number despite its wonderfully wearied delivery. It’s a song which, probably for the first time, reminds one simultaneously of Kris Kristofferson, Gerry Rafferty and Ronnie Lane.

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