Welcome to August’s edition of the Monthly EPs Round-Up, where we run a sagacious eye over this month’s crop of new releases. And what a bumper crop we have to harvest this month, with no less than twelve new EPs to run the rule over. Which of them will earn the much-coveted prize of EP of the month? Read on, and all will be revealed.
To start proceedings off this month, we have something rather special from Georgia Lee Johnson and her five-track EP entitled “Child Of My Heart”. Johnson comes from Squamish in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the northern end of Howe Sound, and her music embodies the landscape of western Canada’s Pacific coastline, while her poetry is inspired by the momentous transformation in her life of becoming a mother. From the opening guitar riff of the first song, ‘Teach Me How To Speak’, and the chiming notes from the guitar of Thomas Hoeller one is immediately hooked, while Johnson’s enticing vocals and emotive poetry, “Teach me how to speak like falling snow, teach me how to listen as the river flows” well and truly seals the deal. The quality of musicality and poetry is maintained throughout, flowing like an endless stream of consciousness, whether it be finding the space to express sadness and anger as on ‘Rage The River’ that concludes with the explosive line “Is it any wonder why, I seek the silence in the sky, drink until the well runs dry, dance with ignorance defy”, or the closing number ‘Clover Green’ that acts as the thesis of the EP, and offers up the title, where she learns to recognise her inner child. Produced by Winston Hauschild, who also co-wrote three of the songs, and aided by some of Canada’s finest musicians, Johnson has managed to capture the majesty of her surroundings whilst tapping into the mystical joy of first-time motherhood to deliver a quite wonderful selection of songs, and “Child Of My Heart” comes highly recommended.
Next up, we have the highly acclaimed folk trio The Magpies and their new four-track EP entitled “The One Thing That I Know”. Consisting of three of the most talented musicians and singer-songwriters these shores have produced in recent years, the trio: Bella Gaffney on banjo and vocals, Holly Brandon on fiddle and vocals and Ellie Gowers on guitar and vocals, have quickly become one of the most exciting acts on the current UK roots scene. Having garnered much critical approval for their debut album in 2020, the band saw their sophomore release, “Undertow” (2022), achieve a lofty chart position in the Official Folk Albums top 40, displaying all their distinctive flair and expertise at combining Anglo and American traditions with sublime harmonies and exquisite musicianship. Of the four new tracks on offer here, the current single, ‘Ebb & Flow’, written by Brandon, was inspired by the centuries-old tradition of the revered female free-divers of Jeju Island, South Korea, highlighting the bravery of these extraordinary women who helped carve out their matriarchal society. Written from the perspective of a mother handing down the tradition to her daughter, the song demonstrates both the wonderful literary storytelling that immediately engages the listener and the fervent thread of feminism that is so prevalent in much of the trio’s work. Elsewhere, ‘Painted Pony’, ‘All Night’, and the instrumental ‘Marigolds’ are all spellbinding, displaying the band’s fluidity in effortlessly traversing genres, from traditional Celtic folk to bluegrass and Appalachian. Produced by renowned folk musician and singer-songwriter Jim Moray, The Magpies’ new EP “The One Thing I Know” will surely cement their position at the top of the current crop of folk artists while championing gender equality within the music industry. Another EP that comes highly recommended.
Staying with the subject of gender equality within the music industry, we have Katie Nicholas and her new four-track EP entitled “Chemistry”. This release is a welcome return to an artist who has suffered a long period of radio silence due to a rather protracted and debilitating journey with record labels and the music industry in general. Finally, having been able to reclaim her music, this time self-produced and released via her independent record label ‘Ladybird Records’, Nicholas has returned to the songs she wrote between the ages of sixteen and twenty years old, celebrating the music that had originally kickstarted her career. The four tracks here position themselves at the more commercial end of the americana genre, with the title track, which had reached the top of the UK/IRE Country Hotdisc chart when originally released over a decade ago, and the delightful ‘Ladybird’, drawing favourable comparison to that of Kacey Musgraves and Ward Thomas. With any justice, this EP should help return Nicholas to the heights she once enjoyed, having previously performed at C2C London pop-up, supported The Shires, and appeared as part of Whispering Bob Harris ‘Under The Apple Tree’ event.
Next up, as if by magic, are two artists who performed on the previously reviewed EP above (and you think I throw this together!). “From The Road” is the new four-track EP from Robert Vincent and Anna Corcoran, two artists who require little introduction to regular readers of AUK. Renowned Liverpudlian singer-songwriter Vincent has already released four critically acclaimed albums, with his most recent, 2024’s “Barriers”, receiving a well-deserved 9/10 from our very own Martin Johnson, and has toured with such rock legends as Roger Waters, Robert Plant, Paul Carrack and Duane Eddy. Fellow Merseyside musician extraordinare Corcoran possesses an equally impressive CV, as an acclaimed session musician, composer and choir director. She is also the recipient of the prestigious UK Instrumentalist of the Year at the AMA-UK Awards, and has toured with the likes of Kiefer Sutherland and Laura Marling. The duo have played together for over a decade, but this EP is the first time they have officially teamed up on record to release new music, though the four tracks here are all covers of well-known songs. Starting with Jackson Browne’s ‘These Days’ and including Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’, Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ and Nick Lowe’s classic ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding’, the duo share some of the songs they love without ever straying to far from the original versions, creating a safe and warm relaxed ambience.
Canadian singer-songwriter Samantha Hooey has just emerged from a twelve-year hiatus with this new four-track EP entitled “Silver”. Born in London, in Southwestern Ontario, Hooey’s music is rooted in the acoustic landscape of Vancouver, where she is now based, with all the songs here written on the same guitar she’s had since her teens. Hooey explains that these songs came out of a healing process, and throughout, one can sense a meditative quality underpinning each melody. Opening track ‘Red Skies’ immediately draws attention to the magical and mystical quality that resides in both Hooey’s delightful vocals as well as her emotive poetry as she sings, “It was a wild force, like a wild horse, pulling the stars down to me” that encapsulates not just the raw emotion and intense intimacy of her delivery, but also that sense of re-birth or re-discovery of a new self confidence so evident in the repeated line “Always thought I was scared of dying, turns out I was just afraid to live”. This high level is maintained throughout with ‘Runs A Little Deeper’ and the excellent ‘The Tide’ both exuding an organic elegance that permeates the EP, and much credit must go to producer Jeff Zipp, along with the tight-knit group of musical collaborators that, by keeping the arrangement uncluttered, have supplied the perfect conduit for Hooey’s musical vision. With this excellent EP, Hooey has reintroduced herself, not as a newcomer, but as a deeply felt presence coming home with four powerful songs that never shout but simply stay with you long after the last note and comes highly recommended.
Matthew James Aylett has a new four-track EP entitled “Past Goodbye” that follows his eponymous debut album, which first saw the light of day towards the end of 2022. Citing such luminaries as Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan as lyrical influences, the soft, soulful vocal delivery of Aylett and the gentle ambience of the minimalist arrangements conjure up images of flatline skies across the fens and lowlands. Recent live performances in London, supporting Willy Tea Taylor, and back in Austin at the legendary Cactus Cafe have helped to raise the profile of this rising talent, and this EP should see his career continue on the same trajectory. Opening with the traditional talking blues of ‘Done Drinking’, which in truth feels something of an outlier, with the three remaining songs better capturing the warm tones and reflective narratives that mark Aylett as an artist to follow. Particular favourites are the title track, along with ‘Thoughts Of June’, which both capture the essence of his hauntingly atmospheric sound, adding subtle touches of pedal steel and banjo to the guitar and vocals structure of the songs.
Next, we have Holly Lerski and her new three-track EP entitled “Greek Trilogy”. Following on from her fifth studio album “Sweet Decline” that was released last year to much critical acclaim, former member of the late-nineties folk-rock band Angelou, Herski delivers three songs, recorded in Nashville earlier this year. Produced, as was last year’s release, by Matthew Roley and featuring contributions from singer-songwriter Guthrie Brown, along with John McNally and Josh Hunt, the EP is fundamentally a love song in three parts. Opening with ‘Weeds’, a song she started writing after being detained at the airport by Border Police for mistakenly overstaying her ESTA while visiting her American fiancé. The triptych of songs here is delivered chronologically, interspersed with spoken word recordings from time spent in Crete, which helps tether the narratives, with the second song, ‘The Moon And The Sun’, capturing Lerski’s response to the news that her fiancé had “moved on”. A song of love’s illusions and of the soul’s redemption. The folk rock anthem of the third track, ‘Chasing The Wild Geese’, finds her back in America to commence mixing what would become last year’s album, and once again detained by Border Police. There may only be three tracks on this EP, but they may just be three of the best songs Herski has written, and where other EPs with more tracks often just feel like a collection of songs, “Greek Trilogy”, thanks to its emotively graphic narrative, has the feel of a complete album despite it clocking in at less than twelve minutes. Very much recommend.
Recent recruits to British Independent Record Label, Loosemusic, New Orleans outfit Greazy Alice, release their debut four-track EP entitled “Just Another One”. Whilst searching for a moniker under which to present some newly written material, musician Alex Pianovich came across Terry Allen’s seminal 1975 song cycle “Juarez” and the track ‘Border Palace’ that includes the line “Well I’m sitting in a border palace, suckin’ on Dos Equis beer, suckin’ with Greazy Alice”, and he knew he had a name. Now, after what seemed to be an ever-evolving group of accomplices, the current incarnation includes Will Repholz on bass and Lee Garcia on drums, delivering the rhythm section to Pianovich’s songs of swirling distorted guitar and twinkling honky tonk keys. The icing on the cake was the later addition of local singer-songwriter Jo Morris, whose harmony vocals help bring a touch of sweetness to Pianovich’s delivery that flirts between sung and half-spoken. The narrative is story-driven, direct and personal, as in a one-sided conversation, the sort one might accidentally stumble across in a smoky corner of a downtown bar and a client drowning his sorrows. Particular favourites on this interesting collection are ‘Departure’, along with the closing number ‘Flag Day’, which builds in crescendo to a distorted guitar solo outro slightly reminiscent of a rockin’ out Neil Young. The band will be embarking on a mini-UK tour during August, including ‘The Long Road Festival’, and they should be well worth checking out.
Originally from Chicago, but having moved to Nashville when she was only eighteen years old, Alaina Stacey releases her six-track EP entitled “Dusk”. This new offering is the final piece of an EP trilogy following on from the previous release of both “Dawn” and “Day”, a somewhat unorthodox approach motivated by the different sonic and emotional aspects of Stacey’s life. The songs here have been written over the last decade, full of emotive poetry on subjects covering regrets, uncertainty and hope, with Stacey citing the likes of Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift and in particular Kacey Chambers amongst her influences. With a strong, vocal delivery heavy on pop sensibilities, sweet melodies, and lush arrangements, this EP is certainly focused towards the more commercial end of country music, though tracks such as ‘Insomnia’ where the narrative focuses on the downside of too much nighttime navel gazing, and ‘Revolve’ that challenges the inner conflict of a roller coaster relationship, both show a level of maturity within the poetry. There is every chance that Alaina Stacey could be the next big name to come out of Nashville, but on this evidence, it will be as a pop star, as musically these six songs are a long way from being americana.
Much closer to the remit is the debut four-track EP from Matthew Payne entitled “Coyote Howlin’ Blues”. Texas songwriter Payne grew up just outside of Austin, in the beautiful Hill Country surrounding Dripping Springs. Having worked in education for the last two decades, teaching English and Creative Writing in Austin public schools, he also spent much of his life soaking up and being influenced by all the great Austin songwriters. Now, having been inspired by his students to pursue his dreams, he has taken four of his own songs into the Cedar Creek Recording Studio in Austin and, under the watchful eye of Andre Moran, delivered a quite excellent EP. His sound blends many of the influences of his home state, as he seeks to honour the poetry of the land and the people he’s met along the way. Mixing old-time country with a little blues and the keen eye of a poet, creating songs that explore the human heart at its rawest depth. With the help of Camille Schiess on violin and Dana Wygmans on upright bass, each of these four songs is out of the top drawer, in particular the title track that opens the EP with a style that tips its hat to Townes Van Zandt, and ‘The Light I Cannot See’, where his plaintive narrative is beautifully complimented by some excellent harmonica while Schiess’ fiddle playing puts the icing on the cake. All wonderful stuff that continues with the driving rhythm and intense vocal delivery of ‘Spiderhouse Blues’, marking Matthew Payne out as a serious contender, and “Coyote Howlin Blues” is another EP that comes highly recommended.
So there we are, ten down and two to go, and with this month proving to be another bumper edition, I have again decided to split the award this month between two EPs. Needless to say, both are excellent, but also very different, covering different strands of the americana music genre.
The first EP of the month award goes to Chloe Jones and her new four-track EP entitled “A Shore To Circle Back To”. Manchester-based singer-songwriter Jones spends much of her time working at sea as a cruise ship musician, and the four songs available on the streaming services of this EP have a thematic undercurrent for travel, either longing for escape or longing to return home. Jones has one of those voices that stops you dead in your tracks from the very first note and holds you transfixed long after the echoes of the final refrain have faded into the ether. Both powerfully rich and emotively fragile, her vocals reveal an evocative storyteller whose songs completely captivate. Her poetry offers subtle hints of early Joni Mitchell, as on the opening track ‘In This Room’, written about the conservatory in her parents’ house, where much of her early writing took place. Jones’ narrative style is at times quite novelistic, betraying a love of literature, but her subject matter always remains personal and reflective. Second track ‘Bluebird’ exposes her restless spirit, constantly looking for escape, never staying in one place too long, with a delivery that suggests shades of both Mary Chapin Carpenter and Tracy Chapman. Throughout the four songs, the arrangements remain sparse, primarily voice and guitar, the starkness creating a cloak of intimacy that entices the listener to hang on her every word. ‘The Same Boat’, a song that tackles the struggles of long-distance relationships, is another spellbinding number, while a wonderful live version of one of her older song that has already become a fan favourite ‘Meet You There’ brings the streaming version of the EP to and end. However, if you purchase the physical CD, it becomes a deluxe EP featuring four additional live tracks recorded with an acoustic band at Assembly Point in Leeds. On this evidence, one can’t help but feel that Jones’ talents are somewhat wasted on the cruise ships, as she deserves to be heard by a much wider audience, and if there is any justice, then “A Shore To Circle Back To” might just be the one to make that happen.
And finally, the joint winner of this month’s EP goes across the water to the Netherlands. Six-piece Dutch band Billy & the Big Bang have just released their debut four-track EP, entitled “Cherry Red”, which blends an authentic mix of americana, country, and bluegrass from their European homeland, where, in recent years, the demand and love of the genre has grown exponentially. The band first came together back in the spring of 2022 through a combined love for all things americana, with a simple goal to remind people of the beauty of real music, to which they have more than succeeded. Opening with the title track, one is immediately drawn to the vocals of lead singer Maxime Baas, a third-generation female singer, who also recently founded the bluegrass band Porchville. Her voice has a timeless quality about it, slightly reminiscent here of Sylvia Tyson, possibly even a hint of Michelle Shocked. The song itself certainly evokes memories of the great Canadian country rock group, The Great Speckled Bird, with a tight rhythm section and lashings of pedal steel from Keenan Schuck, all underpinning an infectious melody. Baas’ vocals excel again on the reflective ‘October Skies’, now betraying a mellow richness while the dual guitar playing from Ben Vollebregt and Casper Nagtegaal reveals musicianship of the highest quality. The achingly beautiful ‘Little Lovers’ literally glides across the speakers, while the closing number ‘Ain’t Gonna Let It Loose’, which opens with some stunning acoustic guitar playing before the rest of the band injects a little more muscle, sees Baas’ vocals take on a slightly more blues flavour, conjuring up comparison to some of the greats of the genre and in particular Bonnie Bramlett. Without doubt, Billy & the Big Bang, who cite artists such as Sierra Ferrell, Watchhouse and the Tedeschi Trucks band among their influences, have produced a stunning debut EP, and if this is an example of the quality of music coming out of the Netherlands, then Nashville and Austin better watch out.
