Album Review: Rianne Downey – The Consequence of Love 

Launching her debut album with a sold out in-store performance at Assai Records in Edinburgh last night, Rianne Downey described herself as ‘giddy’ at finally having ‘The Consequence of Love’ released into the world.

The last few years have been a whirlwind for the singer from Bellshill in Scotland, going from busking and sharing her music online to headlining festivals, after being chosen by legendary Paul Heaton to sing in his band.

Now she’s stepping into the spotlight herself with this country inspired collection of beautiful songs about love, loss, home and finding your own way.  

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Album Review: Ashley Monroe – Tennessee Lightning 

Opening her new album with the stark and almost eerie refrain of ‘I’m gonna run’ you might think this is going to be an album of darkness, especially after Ashley Monroe’s recent experience of cancer.

However from that opening song on ‘Tennessee Lighting’ we hear a different story – she’s looking not to share her suffering but to escape from the pain and search for love.

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Album Review: Patty Griffin – Crown of Roses

A few years back the Spotify executive Daniel Ek stated, “You can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough. The artists today that are making it realise that it’s about creating a continuous engagement with their fans.” While that might be true for newer pop artists, classic singer songwriters like Patty Griffin aren’t afraid of defying the attention economy. The six year gap between her last release and this new one ‘Crown of Roses’ just shows us this is a quietly thoughtful and considerate artist who comes from another, better, era of music listening. 

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Album Review: Natalie Bergman – My Home is Not in This World 

After suffering personal tragedies Natalie Bergman recorded her debut gospel album ‘Mercy’, an exploration of how a spiritual awakening helped with her grief. On her impressive second album ‘My Home is Not in This World’, she focuses on another personal journey – this time through turbulent romantic relationships towards her finding love and becoming a mother.

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Album Review: Cash & Skye – Just a Stranger

Recently I stumbled across this album ‘Just a Stranger’ released earlier this year by Henri Cash from Starcrawler and Sophia Skye de Reeder, daughter of Pierre from Rilo Kiley (who also co-produced the record with Henri). The picture on the cover makes them look like the children of Jack White and Jenny Lewis and their sound isn’t far from that ideal mix either. The duo are fresh from supporting Rilo Kiley on some of their comeback shows.

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Album Review: I’m With Her – Wild & Clear & Blue 

Since ‘I’m With Her’ released their last album ‘See You Around’ in 2018 the trend for all-female supergroups has blossomed with others like Our Native Daughters, The Highwomen, Wonder Women of Country and boygenius coming together to great success. More recently Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis & Karine Polwart impressed with their collaborative album ‘Looking for the Thread’.  

The dream for fans is to see these projects become a regular feature in a solo artist’s career (like the Pistol Annies for example). So I was delighted to hear this second album from Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins and am equally thrilled to report that ‘Wild & Clear & Blue’ surpasses their debut, with exquisite harmonies and sensitive songwriting throughout. 

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Album Review: Brandi Carlile & Elton John – Who Believes in Angels?

After bringing Tanya Tucker and Joni Mitchell back from the dead, Brandi Carlile has done it again. This time she has revived Elton John, who after a triumphant Glastonbury had declared himself exhausted and retired (from touring anyway). Here with Brandi’s help, he sings using every ounce of what voice he has left and sounds like a man reborn. 

But this isn’t an Elton John album produced by Brandi Carlile. Elton has done something important for Brandi in return – he has humbly let her take the lead across much of the album, sharing the spotlight and the billing. The results are powerful and moving. 

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