Ellis Bullard released his sophomore album, "Honky Tonk Ain't Noise Pollution", via Feels So Good Records, on February 9th. Two years after his acclaimed debut "Piss-Hot Freightlining Country Music", this new LP is an unmissable record for honky tonk and real country lovers. Each and every song present on this album is a gem, starting... Continue Reading →
Album review – Duke Oursler’s “He Shot More Than Birds”
Duke Oursler is a Kansas native singer and songwriter, who now lives in Macomb, Western Illinois. His new studio album, "He Shot More Than Birds", released on January 19th, via the Farm Way Records, that he coproduced with Mike Himebaugh, is a country rock LP with excellent storytelling about the life in midwestern little towns... Continue Reading →
Album review – Abby Hamilton’s debut album “#1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo)”
Abby Hamilton is a young singer and songwriter from Wilmore, Southwest of Lexington, Kentucky. She was raised in a musical family, with great aunts part of a gospel group named The Hamilton Family, and a brother who's the lead guitarist in her band. Abby Hamilton released two EP's, "Broke Girl", in 2017, and "Afraid of... Continue Reading →
Album review – Vinnie Paolizzi’s self-titled debut LP
Vinnie Paolizzi is a suburban Philadelphia native singer and songwriter, descending from Italian immigrants, who now lives in Nashville. For years, he hosted there "Revival", a weekly writers round where songwriters shared songs, a place for them to rub shoulders and talk shop. After a 2021 EP, named "Private Sky", Vinnie Paolizi released, on November... Continue Reading →
Album review – Scott Southworth’s “Comin’ Round to Honky Tonk Again”
With such a lot of brilliant country albums released this year, some great records had probably not all the success that they deserved. If 2023 would have been a "normal" year for country music, there's absolutely no doubt that Scott Southworth's new album would have been part of all the talks for best album of... Continue Reading →
Album review- Joe Stamm Band’s “Wild Man”
If you love quality music, you couldn't miss Joe Stamm Band, this summer. After a brilliant EP, "Fort Smith", released on July 14th, they released a new album, on August 11th, named "Wild Man". Defining their music is a hard task. If you ask them, this Midwestern band from Central Illinois will tell you that... Continue Reading →
Album review- Mike Kuster’s “Country So Fresh You Have To Check Your Boots”
I always said and repeated on this blog that country music, even though it's rooted in American South, has no frontiers. I've listened and reviewed excellent and real country music from Rhode Island, Ohio, Washington State, Canada, even from UK or France. The album reviewed on this post was made by an artist from Frederick... Continue Reading →
Album review – Del Barber’s “Almanac”
The Canadian singer and songwriter Del Barber released his eighth album named "Almanac", via Acronym Records, on April 28th, almost two years after the excellent "Stray Dogs (collected B-Sides/Vol 1)". This new album was written in Del Barber's farm, located in Manitoba's Parkland, and then recorded at No Fun Club, Winnipeg, with co-producers Grant Siemens... Continue Reading →
Album review – James Steinle’s “The Echo Sound”
Five years after his beautiful debut album, "South Texas Homecoming", James Steinle released, on April 7th, his new album, "The Echo Sound". Produced by David Beck, it was recorded in a house in Martindale, Texas, in November of 2022. It's the first album of the South Texas singer and songwriter since the brilliant "Cold German... Continue Reading →
Album review – Matt Hillyer’s “Glorieta”
The legendary band Eleven Hundred Springs ended its history in 2021, but the Texan band's front man and songwriter, Matt Hillyer, is still very active. He coproduced, last year, Squeezebox Bandits' album, "Check To Check", a fantastic record reviewed on this blog (check it out here), and wrote o cowrote several songs on it, including... Continue Reading →