Uncle Sinner – Let the Devil in
(Transdigital 66)
This album is easily described. It is nothing short of sensational! Uncle Sinners first and second offerings were both tremendous but this is even better. As far as i’m concerned every other album released this year, and there have been and will be some great ones, will be in it’s shade. This Canadian master of guitar, banjo and mandolin has absolutely nailed old rural blues and gospel and blended it with his mastery of ‘old timey,’ and yet everything is performed in his own idiosyncratic and original way. Were it not for a change in policy I would in all probability have written my longest review ever, but to sum up this extraordinary recording; the sound is sparse, and the songs are all Uncle Sinners interpretations of oldies that have an even deeper atmosphere than many of the originals. His vocals are dramatically raw but melodic with everything cloaked in an all pervading sinister darkness that those old timers claimed to have got from selling their souls to the Devil. Sounds like the old man has another follower! Had the old master, Charley Patton, been able to hear Uncle Sinners stunning version of Oh Death he couldn’t fail to have been impressed. If you like Canned Heat, Charlie Parr or any of those eerie sounding old timers I guarantee you will love this great album. Buy it and ensure Uncle Sinners coffers are such that we can look forward to more great albums by him!
http://unclesinner.bandcamp.com/
(Transdigital 66)
This album is easily described. It is nothing short of sensational! Uncle Sinners first and second offerings were both tremendous but this is even better. As far as i’m concerned every other album released this year, and there have been and will be some great ones, will be in it’s shade. This Canadian master of guitar, banjo and mandolin has absolutely nailed old rural blues and gospel and blended it with his mastery of ‘old timey,’ and yet everything is performed in his own idiosyncratic and original way. Were it not for a change in policy I would in all probability have written my longest review ever, but to sum up this extraordinary recording; the sound is sparse, and the songs are all Uncle Sinners interpretations of oldies that have an even deeper atmosphere than many of the originals. His vocals are dramatically raw but melodic with everything cloaked in an all pervading sinister darkness that those old timers claimed to have got from selling their souls to the Devil. Sounds like the old man has another follower! Had the old master, Charley Patton, been able to hear Uncle Sinners stunning version of Oh Death he couldn’t fail to have been impressed. If you like Canned Heat, Charlie Parr or any of those eerie sounding old timers I guarantee you will love this great album. Buy it and ensure Uncle Sinners coffers are such that we can look forward to more great albums by him!
http://unclesinner.bandcamp.com/
STEVIE RAY LATHAM - MODERN ATTITUDES
2015 - At the Helm
The only time I’ve seen Stevie live was at a small festival in Brighton a couple of years ago and in common with everyone else there, I was tremendously impressed. Several people have noted similarities in vocal style with a young Bob Dylan as any listener will hear, but there is so much more to Stevie than being a 'Dylan sound alike!' Vocally he has more power, expression and is more melodic and whilst he inhabits a story telling sparse folksy world, as did the young Dylan, this is very much a 21st century album that may just as well be compared to a young Townes Van Zandt as anyone else.
This excellent debut recording will be labelled as ‘Folk’ but there is a lot more going on than that narrow definition suggests. Thematically, the recording is much more personal, often relating to faltering or broken relationships than the average folk album. There is a powerful poetic modernity and an even more dramatic, often philosophical edge to Stevie’s songs, consisting in the main of personal observations and responses that slowly reveal themselves throughout the album and indeed still do so after numerous plays. The tempo rarely gets much above a sedate mid tempo and the instrumentation consists of little more than Stevie’s excellent acoustic guitar and harmonica playing but his vocal style and his lyrics are so gripping that the sparseness merely highlights the quality and keeps the listener wondering what will happen to the songs characters on these wordy but beautifully written tales.
This is a young singer songwriter who deserves to be heard by a much wider audience and when this happens he will no doubt have the success that this dynamic recording promises. As you progress through the album those earlier comparisons start to become totally irrelevant, in fact, perhaps the only real thing Stevie, Dylan and Townes have in common is an abundance of original talent.
http://www.stevieraylatham.com/
2015 - At the Helm
The only time I’ve seen Stevie live was at a small festival in Brighton a couple of years ago and in common with everyone else there, I was tremendously impressed. Several people have noted similarities in vocal style with a young Bob Dylan as any listener will hear, but there is so much more to Stevie than being a 'Dylan sound alike!' Vocally he has more power, expression and is more melodic and whilst he inhabits a story telling sparse folksy world, as did the young Dylan, this is very much a 21st century album that may just as well be compared to a young Townes Van Zandt as anyone else.
This excellent debut recording will be labelled as ‘Folk’ but there is a lot more going on than that narrow definition suggests. Thematically, the recording is much more personal, often relating to faltering or broken relationships than the average folk album. There is a powerful poetic modernity and an even more dramatic, often philosophical edge to Stevie’s songs, consisting in the main of personal observations and responses that slowly reveal themselves throughout the album and indeed still do so after numerous plays. The tempo rarely gets much above a sedate mid tempo and the instrumentation consists of little more than Stevie’s excellent acoustic guitar and harmonica playing but his vocal style and his lyrics are so gripping that the sparseness merely highlights the quality and keeps the listener wondering what will happen to the songs characters on these wordy but beautifully written tales.
This is a young singer songwriter who deserves to be heard by a much wider audience and when this happens he will no doubt have the success that this dynamic recording promises. As you progress through the album those earlier comparisons start to become totally irrelevant, in fact, perhaps the only real thing Stevie, Dylan and Townes have in common is an abundance of original talent.
http://www.stevieraylatham.com/