a music blog
You can actually buy a t-shirt that reads ‘Emily Scott Robinson Made Me Cry’ and I can testify that her ability to reduce to a crowd to tears is unmatched. Her new album ‘Appalachia’ is another stunning collection of songs that showcase her angelic voice and sensitive heart.
Continue reading “Album Review: Emily Scott Robinson – Appalachia “
Lucinda Williams has previously released three albums with the word ‘world’ in the title. The first was her 1992 classic ‘Sweet Old World’ where the title song was a poignant tribute to a friend who died by suicide, lamenting his loss and singing of all the beauty they’d left behind. She re-recorded that album in 2017, calling it ‘This Sweet Old World’ as though she was trying to bring back to life the innocent optimism she’d once had. Then there was ‘World Without Tears’ her 2003 album, that seemed to arrive at a kind of weary acceptance of the reality of life’s pain and suffering.
Her new album ‘World’s Gone Wrong’ has more of the latter’s tone, and yet that positivity of ‘Sweet Old World’ still simmers just below the surface. What this album also brings is a continued fiery spirit that started with her ‘Good Souls Better Angels’ album and suggests she’s become more of an activist, more confident in her politics, more outward looking in her music the older she gets.
Continue reading “Album Review: Lucinda Williams – World’s Gone Wrong”
Della Mae’s previous albums have been filled with such heart, humanity and fierce feminism that I’ve always thought they were one of the most underrated bands in the Americana / Bluegrass space.
New album ‘Magic Accident’ was recorded in Nashville with producer Alison Brown, who also plays banjo on the album and has signed the band to her label Compass Records. This is an album showing the power of female collaboration, offering ten tracks of sunshine and strength.
Continue reading “Album Review: Della Mae – Magic Accident “
Melissa Carper is on a hot streak after her last few brilliant solo albums and her work with Wonder Women of Country and she has now released this sparkling new Christmas album. Unlike so many other festive offerings ‘A Very Carper Christmas’ is a collection of nearly all originals, written mainly with her old bandmate Gina Gallina plus Brennen Leigh and Katie Shore.
Continue reading “Album Review: Melissa Carper – A Very Carper Christmas “
I reviewed Lily Allen’s memoir a few years back and made the case for her being one of our most underrated and overlooked artists. What a treat then to be at the end of 2025 looking back on a year when Lily resurrected her career and got the flowers she so richly deserved.
Continue reading “Album Review: Lily Allen – West End Girl”
When ‘Dreamsicle’ was released earlier this year, I decided against reviewing for a couple of different reasons. Firstly my favourite songs on the album had already been released on the ‘Intermission EP’ which I had reviewed in 2024. Secondly I wasn’t initially sold on some of the other songs on the album after that first listen.
However before I went to see Maren in November I started listening to the album properly and found myself falling in love with it, especially the last few songs. Another stand out for me was the title track ‘Dreamsicle’ a sweet ballad about appreciating what you have in life and not dreaming away the present. Even better was the fact that this was a solo write from Maren. Take away all the big producers, the songwriters and what was left was a huge talent with a vulnerable and endearing heart.
Continue reading “Album Review: Maren Morris – Dreamsicle “
When the Grammys recently introduced a ‘Traditonal Country Album’ one of the artists who came straight to my mind was Brennen Leigh. She has regularly played at Robert’s Western World in Nashville, has a brilliant trio with Melissa Carper and Kelly Willis called Wonder Women of Country and just seems to perfectly encapsulate the vintage style of country music which gets unfairly overlooked by the mainstream.
Continue reading “Album Review: Brennen Leigh – Don’t You Ever Give Up On Love”
Juliana Hatfield has been hugely prolific in the period since this blog started in 2017, releasing albums Pussycat, Weird and Blood along with her cover albums of songs by Olivia Newton John, The Police and ELO. It’s been hard to keep up, even for dedicated long time fans like myself. She’s also been writing a brilliant Substack newsletter too. This new album Lightning Might Strike was recorded after she moved to the countryside and went through a difficult period in her life.
Continue reading “Album Review: Juliana Hatfield – Lighting Might Strike”
When I started blogging in 2017 one of my favourite discoveries was Caroline Spence. I have since reviewed both her albums Mint Condition and True North, and believe they are two of the best recent releases in the Americana genre. She’s a compassionate and poetic songwriter with a beautifully sweet voice.
Continue reading “Album Review: Caroline Spence – Heart Go Wild”
Highway Queens 