The Izzys. Keep Your Powder Dry.

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Hailing from New York this crew were afforded the accolade of a John Peel session back in 2003 but apart from that they appear to have flown under the critical radar. This five song EP is their sixth release and it wallows in a fetching slapdash fashion with a homemade feel (and sound) about it. What it does have is a great, at times endearingly shambolic, guitar sound that reminds one of Keef Richard squaring up to Ronnie Wood or the hypnotic lines in The Flamin’ Groovies’ Slow Death.
Whether the country stylings of opening song Tear them Down (a late night bar band playing to the last of the lonely drinkers) or the lazy stroll that is Under The Sun this is music that will help to nurse a beer or two. The strangled guitar on You Are Free and the duelling solos on their cover of Jerry Garcia’s Deal fade far too soon leaving one to wonder what this lot are like live. Lost On The Way is perhaps the standout song, soaked in pedal steel it aches in all the right places.
Highly recommended if you want a superior bar band in your sitting room.

Check them out here

Lost On The Way

April pups.

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Brian Molnar & The Naked Hearts. Miss You is a live album recorded one night in Tennessee although apart from the applause you wouldn’t know it. Molnar is a songwriter very much in the mould of late sixties/early seventies folk like Arlo Guthrie. His studio albums have an earthy, country sound with dobro and steel guitar appearing. Here, confined to his five-piece band with keyboards high in the mix, this is smoothed out with no sign of spontaneity or fire in the belly. Probably best left to fans who have been to a gig.

Donna Ulisse’s Holy Waters, on the other hand, positively bristles with jaunty bluegrass dobro, fiddle and banjo. Judging by the lyrics and the extensive liner notes Donna is a fully paid up committed Christian who talks it like she walks it. However this is no evangelical call to arms but a rather excellent collection of devotional songs very much in the vein of The Carter Family that are as fresh as a mountain stream.

In contrast Darcie Miner on Loneliness Anonymous has a bit of a dirty mouth on her with a warning sticker highlighting the potential perils for the unwary deejay. Just as well that eight of the ten songs here are playable on the radio as Ms. Miner slams into the opening song “Vulnerability” and doesn’t let up for the remainder. Miner’s a fine singer and producer Jimmy Patton and the rest of the band shine with a big fat guitar sound and a fully formed pop sensibility. At times reminiscent of Kathleen Edwards Miner’s lyrics for the most part are about the vulnerabilities of young women cast adrift in a dangerous world but she seems tough enough to cope. Overall this is a tremendous listen and the pick of the litter here.

Have a listen here……………………..

Brian Molnar & The Naked Hearts Santa Fe

Donna Ulisse Caney Creek to Canaan land

Darcie Miner Vulnerablility

Woodenbox With A Fistful of Fivers. Album launch

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A packed crowd in Mono on Sunday night heard this splendidly named band play all of the songs from their debut album, “Home and the Wildhunt.” Loud and raucous and tight as the proverbial duck at the end of a promotional tour they played with gusto and appeared to be enjoying it as much as the audience. The horn section (and whistling) did at times conjure up the spirit of Morricone and spaghetti westerns (to wit the name) but were also able to add slabs of sound giving the impression of a soul revue from back in the days of Stax. Difficult to call a favourite moment here but the radio friendly Twisted Mile drew cheers and Besides the Point was like seeing The Violent Femmes on a particularly psychotic bend. The closing song My Mule had an almost psychedelic start before the band hammered into the song.

The album itself is a bit of a tour de force. With twelve songs delivered in the space of 40 minutes there is hardly time to draw breath. There are the radio friendly hooks of Twisted Mile and the Calexico stylings of Hang the Noose but the baroque pop of Heart Attack, sounding like something Mark Mulcahey might have written, is a gem while the segue from the harmonies on the opening Intro to the horns on Life From Above is excellent.


Gathering a reputation as a hot band live and radio plays from the likes of Marc Riley and Radcliffe and Maconie the album only cements the possibility that Woodenbox are set for greater things. The album’s released on Electric Honey and is another feather in the cap for this label based at Stow College.
“ Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers – Besides The Point by Triad Publicity “>

Check them out and buy the album here

Jim Dead

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Well, with a name like that you have to listen, don’t you? I heard Mr. Dead a few weeks back on a session he did on the Sunny Govan Switchback. With an interesting list of influences and some songs that beggared belief that they didn’t originate in some dusty back town off of Route 66 I went in search of him. With two releases, a solo album and a single (backed by The Doubters) under his belt he had this to say for himself.

You were in a “succession of local bands” before coming to your present incarnation. What type of music were you playing then and what led you to the current set up?

I sang and occasionally played guitar in rock bands since 1997. My big influences were the bands that came form the ‘Alternative Rock’ explosion in the 90’s … Nirvana, Blind Melon, Jane’s Addiction etc. Among the rock music I had some Johnny Cash and Tom Waits … but I started paying a great deal of attention to alternative Country / Americana in 1998 or so after I heard Whiskeytown’s Strangers Almanac and Richard Buckner’s Bloomed and Devotion & Doubt. They were shaping how I wrote songs and I brought that influence in to the music I was writing with the band … certainly within the lyrics … and Whistle of a Distant Train came from then. I guess Jim Dead began when the ideas I was bringing in weren’t sounding as I imagined. I never specifically wanted to play country music, but I wanted to strip the songs right back and focus on the words and the stories.

I read of a T Shirt that said “ Old Punks Never Die, they just go Country.” Not that we’re saying you’re old but any relevance there?

Could be that it’s easier to sing? I guess it would be fair to say that it’s a lot easier to tell a story without shouting. It’s also a completely different feeling … and a complete departure. It’s like missing the rush-hour and getting a seat on the bus.

Who or what are the particular influences in your style and songwriting?

There’s so many … Johnny Cash is obviously a huge influence, as is Richard Buckner, Tom Waits, Mark Lanegan, Damien Jurado and Steve Earle. There’s been other artists that I’ve heard over the years that have had an impact on what I’d like to bring to my music, but I always tend to come right back to those early influences.

Where does Jim Dead and the music come from?

I have an interest in the mysterious, and that Golden Age of Medicine Shows and Carnivals. It’s about a community that existed back then, where those sorta shows would come along and stir up the imagination of the locals … so I write about everyday things that happen in a sleepy town called Deadsville.

Go Tell the Congregation was all about hope … and the familiar settings for bleak Americana records, but it was doing things a little different without being gimmicky. For me the album was a reaction, and exploring how people react to things.

Your album was a stripped down affair, the EP with the Doubters had more flesh on it. Will you be pursuing one of these directions or continuing on both fronts?

At the moment I’m working on my own and with the Doubters. Most gigs that I’ve played have been solo, though those guys had been involved in two great events at the end of last year. Essentially it’s solo where I get the most enjoyment … maybe because that’s how the songs were written and nothing gets lost. But it’s been great to see how the songs translate with those guys and I’m sure I’ll keep recording with them and we’ll do some shows. I see The Doubters as a collective … and there’s still work to be done. I want to stretch myself … see what we can do.

Aside from the usual suspects you mention Giant sand/Howe Gelb as influences, when did you hear of them? Anyone else that you haven’t mentioned?

A friend of mine introduced me to Giant Sand … there’s something about the sound that just pulls me in. At times it’s ramshackle. And when you listen to their discography it’s sorta like listening to Howe Gelb’s never-ending road trip … crazy, vibrant, dusty and tired.

Whiskeytown, The Afghan Whigs are also great bands that have a bit of an influence in how I structure things.

Current favourite albums/songs?

Surprisingly I think Johnny Cash is the only ‘country’ artist that I’ve been listening to. American VI was a huge record … I just think it’s great. I’ve been listening to Mos Def [The Ecstatic] and the Wu-Tang Clan [Iron Flag and 8 Diagrams] … though I guess you could say that there’s a link between Hip-Hop and Country. And a friend of mine has introduced me to James Apollo. And Craig Hughes’ Pissed Off, Bitter and Willing to Share.

Finally, what’s coming up. Anything you want to plug?

Since this is a wonderful chance to plug myself, my debut record, Go Tell the Congregation, is available via iTunes, CDbaby and Amazon MP3 … all the latest Jim Dead news is on MySpace.com/JimDead.

I have a few gigs coming up which should be great. I’m playing Café Tibo on Duke Street with Lou Vargo on April 18th … I’m particularly looking forward to that. Then I’m playing at That Devil Music (The State Bar) alongside Craig Hughes and Man Gone Missing on May 7th. The Doubters are playing The Free Candy Sessions at The Liquid Ship on Great Western Road on May 14th.

I’m also working on some new songs and I’m hoping to get some new music out there soon.

Best of luck with that then.

Bone Blue Moon when done with The Doubters has a forlorn, fatalistic sense about it. The electric guitar sings as if in a canyon and Dead sounds like he’s kinfolk of Will Oldham on a song that drinks deep from the dark well of American folk. On the same song and shorn of the ornamentation provided by the band the solo Dead sounds as if he’s been touched by the ghost of Harry Smith. Spooky stuff indeed..

Check him out here

Jim Dead and the Doubters. Bone Blue Moon

Jim Dead. Before I Die

Raina Rose. When May Came.

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Fourth release from this songwriter from Portland, Oregon, this took some time to come to terms with. Initially it seemed to be a fairly lightweight confection very much in the general female singer/songwriter mode. Repeated listening (one in particular, late at night with some wine to accompany it )offered a greater insight into what is a warm, embracing and comforting album.
The primary problem here was the jauntier songs including the opener, Sun Comes Back which is pleasant but innocuous and Desdemona which trots along at a brisk pace but failed to engage me. The meat of the album is in the slower songs which dominate the latter half of the album. Rose sounds more comfortable on these, her voice assumes a sultry tone missing in the more upbeat numbers. Stone Around my Neck is a particularly effective song with discontented rumblings creeping in on keyboards at one point reflecting the discontented state of the relationship she is singing about. The musicians (a select bunch of Austin players) excel on the following What Do You Bury which is sumptuous and beguiling on an obituary for a drunkard partner with a lyrical tour de force. The mood continues on Heart Broken Open with warm bass notes and a vulnerable vocal performance with great alliterative wordplay.
So overall a grower, an album to sink into, really rather nice.
Have a listen here

The Kissing Bandits – Lost in The Eighties

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A little slice of local history slipped out late last year in the form of a CD called Park Lane Archives. This was a collection of songs and demos recorded at park Lane studios in Glasgow’s south side in the eighties. Notable for being where Texas, Altered Images, the Bluebells and Del Amitri did some of their early recordings, of more interest were those bands who did not achieve stardom but faded into obscurity. My interest was piqued by the inclusion of a song from The Kissing Bandits, a band I followed avidly back then. With a live sound that owed much to the garage punk classics of the sixties they wrote some fine songs and played some great gigs including the night that The Fleshtones wowed Nightmoves. They released a few singles and an album (on the French New Rose label) but sadly faded away. Singer Ronnie Costley now resides in Ireland and continues to perform, bassist Brendan Moon moved into promotion and is currently involved with Paulo Nutini. Spurred by the Park Lane disc I dug out their old singles to give them a spin and here for your listening pleasure is their version of The Flamin’ Groovies’ Shake Some Action.
Shake Some Action

For some more info on the Bandits have a look here.

Sleepy Driver. Steady Now.

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It seems that nowadays a fair proportion of albums that arrive for review are Canadian in origin. Canadiana anyone? To be sure many of the touchstones in the alt country/Americana scene were Canadians, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Band, to name a few. More recently Blue Rodeo and Blacky and the Rodeo Kings would be the names most likely to pop up in conversation.
Well, here’s another band to talk about instead of the Mounties and Northern Exposure. Sleepy Driver are a band with a sound that is in the same vein as some of the eighties so called Paisley Underground crew. In particular there are moments that are very akin to the great Steve Wynn both in his Dream Syndicate days and more latterly from his “desert trilogy”.
With a big guitar sound, great dynamics and at times a great pop thrust, leader Peter Hicks hits on the darker side of life including a great murder ballad (Drowning In My Dreams). While able to utilise an acoustic base in songs such as “Where You Are” and “North Dakota” (where some pedal steel leavens the sound) it’s the surge of guitar and organ on “When the Lights Come On” and the chunky slice of a song that is “Architects” that standout. Opening song “Like a Weapon” should be a radio hit at least if there’s any justice. Best of all is “Watch You Sleep” which has a fantastic, trippy guitar outro which is reminiscent of the Rain Parade.
For a debut album this is very assured and very, very listenable. Have a peek here

Matt Keating. Between Customers.

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Matt Keating is new to me but this CD hit the carpet along with news that Mr. Keating is playing two local gigs in May (Laurie’s Bar and Kilbarchan if you ask). So what else to do but give it a spin and see what happens.
Keating certainly comes highly recommended when you check his bio. Essentially he’s a singer songwriter who gets mentioned in the same breath as Elliot Smith and Ron Sexsmith, praise indeed. Normally one reads these blurbs with a sense of detached amusement as according to the majority of them you are about to hear the aural equivalent of the great American novel. I don’t think Keating is in the same league as Smith but he certainly gives Sexsmith a run for his money.
This is his eighth album and is generally a very nice, very laid back affair. Warm and comfortable, late night listening with Keating’s vocals sounding so easy, at times reminiscent of Willie Nelson, at others, Lou Reed. This is indeed mentioned in his press and surprisingly enough it’s true. At times this makes for an odd listening experience but the end result is a heart-warmingly vulnerable voice, no more so than on “The Place” which is a beautiful song, like looking at snow through a window. Elswhere Keating’s songs remind me of Hobotalk. There is an aching at the heart of them which is bolstered by the inclusion of strings giving a song like “Better than That” a timeless quality, it could easily be from an early Neil Young album.
On the strength of this a night at one of the gigs looks like an interesting proposition.

Tour dates and music samples here

New Heathens. Hello Disaster. Avenue A Records.

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Roots rock doesn’t get any rootsier than some of the stuff on this second album from New York band The New Heathens. Their debut “Heathens Like Me” sizzled and burned with an energy borrowed from the likes of The Stones, The Faces and Graham Parker. On this outing they have moved to a more classic Americana rock vein, due in part perhaps to having Eric “Roscoe” Ambel in the producer’s seat.
Anyhoo, Crybaby is a blistering opener that would not be out of place on the new Jason and the Scorchers release. Other stompers include Pig Pen, a muscular celebration of a night on the town and Proud Highway, a classic driving song the title of which alludes to the late and great Hunter S Thompson (who was also referenced in their first album).
Able to rock with the best then , The Heathens have a mellower side which is also evidenced here. I Thought You Were My Friend is a chunky country ballad while Don’t think I Can’t stop has a ringing Byrds’ like guitar chiming throughout it. They top it all on the closing song, Bastard Like Me which is a simple, short confessional with singer Nat Scheber, accompanied by acoustic guitar and accordion, admitting to past failures in a heartstopping fashion.
All in all this is a great little album, a step up from their first and a joy to listen to.
Check them out here
And listen to them here