Tag Archives: new music

‘Not Good Enough’ – the ‘glamtastic’ new song featuring late Glitter Band founder, John Rossall

Glam rock, Music news, Rock music, , , , , ,

Five years on from the release of his critically-acclaimed glam comeback album, The Last Glam in Town, and four years on from his tragic passing, new music from Glitter Band founder, John Rossall, has recently been hitting the airwaves.

The stream of glowing reviews for Last Glam in Town were a surprise even to Rossall. When I interviewed him back in 2020, he told me: “It’s like I’ve written them myself almost! It’s a surprise. The reviews everywhere – it’s been beyond my wildest dreams really.”

What people may not know, however, is that before he died John Rossall recorded a follow-up album to Last Glam In Town. John’s close friend and former PR, Anne Street, has worked tirelessly to get that final album released and made available to fans. While that wish so far remains unfulfilled, a track from the album and an accompanying video has been officially launched via You-Tube and has also been picking up enthusiastic airplay on Heritage Chart Radio and many other stations, including Kim Smith’s show on Radio Northwich and Jan Bjerrum’s show on Sunshine Radio.

The single ‘Not Good Enough’ is a collaboration between John Rossall, David Philp and Mark Standley. The video celebrates John’s Blackpool heritage – with colour and black and white segments marking a nod to both his 1970s Glitter Band heyday and his 1960s early career in the Boston Show Band. The video was created by Dave Forward of Manchester band, The Cathodes, who posted the video to his own YouTube channel.

Anne Street explained the background to both the single and the unreleased final album in a recent announcement on Facebook:

“When John was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in March 2021 he set about spending all his remaining time writing and recording a final glam album. He hoped to see it released before he died, but his record label procrastinated over the final mixes and this delay has continued. A renowned Dutch DJ and  producer more recently offered to do the final mix free and for the benefit of John’s family, but record label would only agree if paid!

Meanwhile, John had collaborated with David Philp on one track, and Mark Standley was credited too. David as co-writer was eventually allowed to bring out his final mix which John had approved in 2021.

I met up with David at his home in Beverly Hills, L.A., June 2024, and we discussed the importance of getting this song out for John’s fans and as a tribute to John’s memory. It features both John Rossall and David Philp. However, David  had to overcome all sorts of publishing hurdles and it’s finally ready.”

While the song is yet to receive an official release so that fans are able to purchase it through the main digital platforms, Anne Street remains hopeful that this can happen in the near future.

“It’s a fab, glamtastic song and hoping you’ll enjoy it,” she added.

The track entered Mike Read’s Heritage Chart Radio in the Top 40 following release. Currently at No. 38, it is expected to rise higher. The You-Tube video is also featured on Mike’s Heritage Chart TV Show for Talking Pictures.

Voting link here: www.heritagechart.co.uk

The track is also No 9 in Pete Seaton’s Chart of Gold Hot 100 on www.appleradio.co.uk

Album review: Rossall – The Last Glam In Town

Glitter, glam and Blackpool rock: interview with glam rock legend John Rossall

Tribute to John Rossall: Glitter Band founder passes away peacefully following cancer battle

Folk: Album review – Amelia Hogan ‘Burnished’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , ,

I really enjoyed Taking Flight, the 2023 album by San Francisco-based folk singer, Amelia Hogan, praising her distinctive vocal style and the album’s beautiful musical accompaniment when I reviewed it two years ago. It wasn’t just me who thought that either. The album picked up many favourable reviews and made the top ten of the Folk Alliance International chart in the month it was released. Now Hogan is back with a brand-new album, Burnished.

Like Taking Flight there’s one song that’s a self-composed original which is written in a traditional style, with the remaining thirteen tracks being a mixture of traditional numbers and Hogan’s own interpretations of songs by more contemporary songwriters.

Amelia Hogan: “The album highlights familiar, often overlooked folklore about real places, sharing the hidden magic found in connecting with the natural world and its spirits of place, or Genius Loci. It also reflects on the emotional impact of remembering an animist perspective (what happens when we act as if everything around us is conscious?), where we share our space with everything around us-both seen and unseen. Through this, I encourage us to approach our relationships mindfully – with people, nature, and the world we co-inhabit.”

Highlights include the self-composed opening track, ‘Rolling in the Gold’ – a lovely song with both Americana and Celtic influences and described as ‘a love-song to California’. The traditional material includes a poignant version of ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ a seventeenth century American spiritual with roots back in England; as well as a lively, uplifting version of ‘Dh’eirich Mi Moch Madainn Chetein’ – a traditional Gaelic song originally sung by textile workers in the Scottish highlands as they treated wool in the process of making tweed.

Other material on the album includes a heartfelt rendition of the Irish singer, Dominic Behan’s ‘Patriot Game’. Originally written in the 1950s reflecting on the Troubles in Ireland, Hogan gives it renewed potency as a warning of the dangers of blind patriotism and manipulation by unscrupulous political leaders.

With Hogan’s characteristically distinctive vocals, intuitive feel for emotive story-telling and gorgeous instrumentation, Burnished is a worthy follow-up to Taking Flight.

Released: 1 April 2025 https://ameliahogan.com/

Related post:

Latest folk reviews: Amelia Hogan, RURA, Milton Hide, Joy Dunlop and Megson

This week’s featured artists: folk trio Curmudgeon – new album Travelling North

Album reviews, Folk music, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

Travelling North is the debut album from this Edinburgh-based folk trio. Curmudgeon is made up of Donald Gorman, Laurie Brett, Donald Gorman and Andrew Macintyre

Donald Gorman is a highly rated Edinburgh-based fiddle player specialising in traditional Scottish music. He also plays mandola and adds accompanying vocals on the album.

Laurie Brett, meanwhile, is the band’s lead singer and guitarist and although originally from Essex, he’s spent the last four decades based in Scotland.

The third member of the trio, Andrew Macintyre, is a familiar figure on the Edinburgh folk session scene and a teacher of small pipes and highland pipes. In the band he plays Scottish small pipes and various whistles as well as providing vocals.

Photo: Caitlynn Neil

The ten-track album features five songs interspersed with five tune-sets. The songs are drawn from the trad. arr. canon with a couple of contemporary folk-scene favourites thrown in, including a reworking of the Richard Thompson classic ‘Beeswing’. Meanwhile the tune-sets feature a charming array of traditional  jigs, airs, reels and hornpipes originating from Scotland and the north of England.

There’s a quiet, gentle dignity about the trio’s music but no shortage of creativity. The arrangements are built around the wonderful musical interplay between the three musicians. The warm, engaging vocals of  both Brett and Macintyre bring empathy and sincerity to the storytelling in each of the songs and informative liner-notes provide insightful background information on the origins of each of the compositions.

Regardless of the name, it’s clear the trio have been anything but curmudgeonly in the way they’ve approached the making of Travelling North. A lovely debut.  

Released: 1 June 2025 https://www.curmudgeonfolk.co.uk/

Alt-rock: album review – Revolution Rabbit Deluxe ‘Rise’

Album reviews, Rock music, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Formed in Blackwood, South Wales in 2019 the deliciously-named Revolution Rabbit Deluxe are Ant Gingell (vocals/guitar), Max Perera (vocals/guitar), Tim Lawley (bass) and Lee Titterrell (drums). The band-name was  inspired by Gingell’s lifelong love of said furry friends with the random thought of one of them appearing on an iconic Che Guevara-style poster coming to him during a car journey discussing potential names one day. The ‘Deluxe’ part was then added to give a bit of extra sparkle.

The Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins and Feeder are all cited as influences, alongside the Beatles and XTC.

https://revolutionrabbitdeluxe.bandcamp.com/track/parabellum

As the name might imply, Revolution Rabbit Deluxe are a band that certainly don’t shy away from strident political commentary in their music. The new album Rise addresses such themes as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezoz blowing money on their pet space projects while children die of hunger (‘Chapter 9’); the fashion for cheap, easy virtue-signalling while failing to address fundamental issues of corporate power and economic inequality (‘We’re So Woke – We Haven’t Slept in Years’); and standing up and being counted (‘Rise’).

While there’s certainly anger and angst (and why shouldn’t there be!), there’s also plenty of joy, optimism and bags and bags of catchy melodies to be found on this album. The shared male/female vocals also work extremely well and while Gingell takes the lead vocal on the songs already mentioned, Max Perera provides some light and shade on the album with her lead vocal contributions on tracks like the anthemic ‘Starlight’ and the more mellow, acoustically-driven ‘The Night The Stars Fell’ which closes the album.

With it’s catchy tunes, spiky lyrics and punky attitude, Rise is well worth a listen.

Released: 19 September 2025 by Bad Monkey Records

This week’s featured artist: traditional flute player, Frances Morton – new album ‘Sliocht’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

Growing up in Glasgow, Frances Morton is a much celebrated flute-player with familial roots in both Scotland and Ireland. Learning piano at a young age, she later took up whistle and flute, winning several All-Ireland medals and becoming immersed in the session scenes in both Scotland and Ireland.

Since then, Morton has performed at festivals and concerts across Europe and the USA and has appeared in programmes for the BBC and TG4. Now living in Ireland, she has been active in the session scenes in Belfast, Galway and Donegal, playing alongside local musicians.​

Sliocht is Morton’s debut solo album. Meaning ‘trace’ or ‘lineage’, it celebrates Morton’s Scottish and Irish musical heritage where, from her extensive repertoire, she has curated a selection of jigs, reels, strathspeys and marches that have held a particular meaning for her throughout her life, all accompanied by an extensive set of liner notes, tracing the origins of the traditional tunes and explaining where she first learned them.

https://francesmorton.bandcamp.com/track/the-mayo-set-seit-mhaigh-eo

Produced by guitarist, Eamon McElholm, the album features a number of the top-flight traditional musicians Morton has collaborated with over the years, including fiddle-player, Ciarán Tourish; singer, Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, on the one vocal track; Mark Maguire and Seamus O’Kane playing bodhrán on several tracks; and Ryan O’Donnell and Malcolm Stitt on bouzouki. Julie Langan, fiddle player from Mayo, also plays on one track.

From lively jigs to mighty reels to graceful airs, this album is packed full of majestic tunes and equally majestic playing, immediately transporting the listener from wherever they may be to the bars, community halls and timeless rugged landscapes of Scotland and Ireland. Dedicated to the memory of her late father, Sliocht celebrates Frances Morton’s musical heritage in style and does her forebears proud.

Released: 15 March 2025  www.francesmorton.com

Americana: album review – John Jenkins ‘Restless Hearts’

Album reviews, americana, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Singer-songwriter, John Jenkins, was once part of Liverpool’s ‘80s post-punk scene as a member of The Persuaders and Come in Tokio but as the decades rolled on it was as a solo performer and on the Americana scene where he began to really make his mark.

I reviewed his third album, the extremely promising Growing Old (Songs From My Front Porch) back in 2020, noting “Jenkins’ lyrics have a nice turn of phrase to them and he can clearly turn out some really, strong memorable melodies, too.”

A further album, If You Can’t Forgive You Can’t Love followed in 2021. However, it was his next album Tuebrook, that appeared to be something of a gamechanger and cemented his reputation as a critically-acclaimed figure on the UK’s Americana scene. Following a well-received EP, Weary, in 2024, Jenkins is back with a new full-length album.

John Jenkins: “My previous album, Tuebrook, was deeply personal, with most tracks drawing inspiration from significant moments in my own life. For this new album, I aimed to return to storytelling, crafting narratives that were less autobiographical yet still rich in character and emotion. Even while consciously creating fictional personas, I found that elements from my own experiences and the lives of those around me naturally wove their way into the fabric of the songs. The result is a blend of truth and fiction, where distinguishing one from the other is often challenging.”

Drawing inspiration from Bob Dylan’s John Wesley Harding album and Nanci Griffiths’ Last of the True Believers, Restless Hearts explores the theme of restlessness with songs about those who, in one way or another, are searching for more in their lives.

Restless Hearts demonstrates just what a gifted storyteller John Jenkins is. Its twelve tracks hit the sweet spot in capturing that enigmatic blend of sadness, longing and hope, set to some instantly appealing melodies and with a crack squad of A-list musicians, bringing depth, emotion and sheer class to this gorgeous collection songs. Highly recommended.

Released: 4 July 2025 https://www.johnjenkinsmusic.com/

Related Post:

Album review – John Jenkins ‘Growing Old (Songs From My Front Porch)’

This week’s featured artists: psychedelic indie alt-rock band, Innocents Abroad

Album reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Psychedelic indie alt-rock band, Innocents Abroad, were formed in Liverpool by four students in the 1980s: Martin Malone (guitar), Peter Mills (vocals), Stuart Hilton (drums) and Steve Goodrich (keyboards). After recording two albums (Quaker City in 1986 and Eleven in 1988) the band went their separate ways and, like many other bands of that era that was seemingly the end of the story.

But improbably, they released their third album back in March of this year. Three of the four original members (Hilton, Malone and Mills) are back in the fold, each bringing their different musical perspectives and life experiences. These days, Hilton occupies the drum-stool  for the band, Cult Figures, alongside running a degree course in animation; while Malone has pursued a solo career as well as recording with both Eskimo Chains and The Scaremongers and is also an award-winning poet. After spending time in Eastern Europe, meanwhile, Mills returned to the UK to teach music at English universities. Around ten years ago, they started occasionally playing together once again, with Malone and Mills eventually writing songs with one another and the bones of an album beginning to take shape.

With the addition of Jane Breed (bass/vocals) Late Spring weaves together the band’s love of jangly Rickenbacker rock with strands of European pop and folk music, Bossa Nova and cult movie soundtracks. Once memorably hailed by the Guardian as a “home-grown answer to REM”, the new album has picked up plenty of plaudits, with comparisons being made to the US Paisley Underground scene and bands like Hüsker Dü and 10,000 Maniacs. Listening to Late Spring there’s no shortage of home-grown comparisons to make either – and devotees of Merseyside legends like The Las and The Coral will find lots to love here.

With jangling Rickenbacker, soaring melodies and joy-infused, trippy vibes, Innocents Abroad have created a polished and confident album bursting with exquisitely-crafted indie-pop anthems.

Late Spring released: 31 March 2025

https://innocentsabroad3.bandcamp.com/album/late-spring

Folk / Singer-songwriter: EP review – Greenshanks ‘Stormbird’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , ,

Greenshanks is the alter-ego of Will Boyd-Wallis from Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands. He gained recognition performing at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections in 2023 where he was a finalist at the Danny Kyle Open Stage. Stormbird is his debut EP and after forty years of playing and writing music, this is the first time any of his songs have been officially released.

The five-track EP features a stellar cast of notable musicians from the Scottish contemporary folk scene. As well as Boyd-Wallis (vocals, guitar, guitalele), Stormbird boasts Hamish Napier (harmonium, organ, piano); James Lindsey (double bass, electric bass): James Mackintosh (percussion); Ross Ainslie (low whistle); Becky Doe (viola, violin); and Iain Forrest (slide guitar).

Will Boyd-Wallis: “This EP has been a long time coming. The first track Fistful of Sand has been growing in me ever since I was a boy when my mother told me that my great-great-grandfather was born on the Isle of Rum on the West Coast of Scotland. He was evicted and sailed to Nova Scotia, eventually settling in New Zealand.  This story led me to move to the Highlands in my early twenties with a vow to put something back. I dedicate this EP to my mother Maha, great-granddaughter of John Mòr McLean.”

Putting that something back has, for Boyd-Wallis, resulted in him dedicating the past thirty years to working in caring for woodlands, moorlands, mountains and coasts in hard-to-reach places in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and he adds:

“All of the other songs have been inspired by the many people, places and creatures I have met on my daily life and work with the National Trust for Scotland.  I am grateful to all of them – animal, plant and mineral – for all the joy and comfort they have given me.”

From the aforementioned ‘Fistful of Sand’, which immortalises the pain and suffering of the Rum islanders as a result of the clearance of 1826; to ‘Sandstone’, described as a modern-day Selkie song; to the title track which outlines a life-enhancing encounter with a storm petrel chick on the island of Hirta in St Kilda, the Stormbird EP reveals Boyd-Wallis to be a fine storyteller and songwriter. The songs are sung with passion and conviction but also genuine tenderness. Along with some seriously good musicianship and some lovely cover art and beautifully-written liner notes, it makes for a highly impressive recording debut.

Released: 7th March 2025 https://greenshanks.com/

Fields of Redemption – new album from guitarist, Joe Hodgson – released 20th June

Music news, Rock music, Uncategorized, , , , ,

“The album is about the quest to right wrongs, the search for inner peace, and the reconnection with the land of my birth.” – Joe Hodgson

While firmly grounded in the rock and blues influences of his youth, Fields of Redemption sees Irish guitarist Joe Hodgson encompass a myriad of musical styles, which he blends and moulds to stunning effect. The result is an almost entirely instrumental album that is insanely diverse and refuses to fit neatly into any musical genre.

Hodgson explains: “You’ll find all my influences in there: rock, blues, jazz, classical, country, and even Irish traditional music. I also recorded two acoustic tracks, which was a first for me.”

Feelings of introspection and soul-searching pervade the record, but it also radiates brighter, less angst-ridden melodic explorations than its predecessor, Apparitions. The inspiration for the album came from an extended journey around his native Ireland with his new wife and his trusty Gibson Les Paul, soaking up the land of his birth.

Hodgson adds: “The album is fundamentally about reconnecting with my roots, reconciling with and embracing the past, while steadfastly looking to the future. It’s also about a journey to find inner peace, which for me is punctuated by laughter and a whole lotta fun. Overall, I think it’s a very uplifting record.”

The album is co-produced by Hodgson and Chris James Ryan (Keith Urban, Go West, The Church), and it features the Austrian rhythm section of Philipp Groyssboeck on drums and Vinzenz Benjamin on bass, both currently members of Go West and Cutting Crew. The nucleus of the band is completed by Otger Garcia on Hammond organ, Kelly O’Donohue on horns, João Paulo Drumond on percussion, and All-Ireland Champion bodhrán player, Paul McClure. Recording sessions took place in Ireland, England, Germany, Canada, the USA, and the Czech Republic.

For Joe, the most memorable recording session took place in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic, who appear on one of the album’s flagship tracks, “You I Think Of”. He describes this as “a spine-tingling moment”. Another highlight comes with the guest appearance of Irish singer Glen Harkin on “Since You Had a Hold on Me”. The album was mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Will Bowden (Gotye).

Fields Of Redemption is a big-sounding record, but not an over-produced one. It covers a wide range of emotions, moods, and styles, and it takes the listener on an epic journey. It is ambitious and brave, and the frequent twists and turns will keep listeners constantly on their toes. Despite the blending and blurring of musical genres, Fields of Redemption has a truly cohesive feel to it, and it is an album that is meant to be listened to from start to finish.

Read my feature-length interview with Joe Hodgson here

About Joe Hodgson:

Guitarist Joe Hodgson hails from the village of Ballymagorry in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland. His music, shaped by his upbringing during The Troubles, mirrors the fierce rain and winds of the Emerald Isle. It is both sweeping and intense, boldly blending rock, blues, jazz, and Irish traditions into finely crafted instrumentals, which reveal a multifaceted, emotive, and diverse performer.

After many years of playing and recording with London-based bands and touring throughout Europe, Joe returned to his birthplace in 2018. In 2020, he released his debut solo album Apparitions to wide critical acclaim. Guitar World called his playing “elite”. Prominent Canadian music journalist Steve Newton said he is “the best guitarist you’ve never heard of”. ANR Factory, meanwhile, described the album as “a modern-day masterpiece”.

On June 20th, 2025, Hodgson is set to release his second solo album, Fields of Redemption, an almost entirely instrumental collection of tunes which, in typical style, straddles, blends and bends musical genres. The album also features a guest appearance by Irish singer Glen Harkin. Three singles from the album have been released to date, garnering glowing reviews.

Website: https://joehodgsonmusic.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joehodgsonmusic

X: https://x.com/joehodgsonmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joehodgsonmusic

Related posts:

Interview with Irish guitarist Joe Hodgson – new album out 20th June

This week’s featured artist: guitarist Joe Hodgson – new single out 28th March

Rock / Blues: Double A-side single release – Joe Hodgson ‘Since You Had a Hold on Me’ / ‘Stick or Twist’

Irish guitarist Joe Hodgson ‘You I Think Of’ – new single and video out 6th June

Folk: album review – Odette Michell ‘The Queen of the Lowlands’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

Reviewing Odette Michell’s debut album for the much-missed fRoots magazine back in 2019, I wrote that The Wildest Rose was “one of the stand-out debuts of 2019”. Lots of commentators expressed similar levels of enthusiasm and she soon found herself on many people’s ‘one to watch’ lists that year.

Since then, Michell has performed alongside the likes of Show of Hands, as well as opening for folk luminaries like Martin Carthy, Phil Beer, Reg Meuross and Ninebarrow amongst others. She’s also recently begun performing with Karen Pfeiffer and Daria Kulesh in a new trio formation: Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh. However, it’s been quite some wait for a follow-up solo album – but finally it’s here.

Comprising ten original songs, The Queen of the Lowlands features an impressive line-up of guest musicians, including Chris Leslie, Phil Beer, Lukas Drinkwater, Vicki Swann and Stu Hanna (who also produced); alongside additional vocal contributions from Daria Kulesh, Calum Gilligan and the duo, Ninebarrow.

Reviewing Michell’s debut album I noted she had a “knack for writing songs that could easily have been collected over a hundred years ago”. A similar approach is clearly evident on this latest album, as Michell herself acknowledges.

“My approach to songwriting is to try to be as authentic as possible while keeping a foothold in the folk tradition – it’s a balancing act but every song is personal to me at some level.”

Highlights include the gentle nature-themed opening track ‘The Woodlark and the Fieldfare’ with vocal contributions from the equally nature-loving Ninebarrow; the more contemporary-sounding but no less gorgeous ‘Hourglass’, dedicated to Michell’s father and sung as a duet with Callum Gilligan; and the jaunty fiddle-driven closing track ‘All The Bonny Ships’, written about Michell’s Polish grandparents who got separated during WW2 but were miraculously reunited in Britain at the end of the war.

Title track ‘The Queen of the Lowlands’, meanwhile, (which features some characteristically spell-binding fiddle from Fairport’s Chris Leslie) is not about Queen Wilhelmina, the former Dutch monarch, but rather the ship named after her that played a heroic role in the First World War, transporting US troops safely back home. It’s one of several nautical-themed songs on the album, hence the striking cover art.

Following her hugely-impressive debut album, here Odette Michell has gone on to deliver an absolutely stunning follow-up. Infused with her deep appreciation and obvious knowledge of traditional song, The Queen of the Lowlands is a beautiful album with gripping storytelling, crystal-clear vocals and first-class musicianship.

Released: 13 June 2025 https://www.odettemichell.com/

Related post:

Folk: album review – Odette Michell ‘The Wildest Rose’