Arriving fresh in the mail only recently comes the new single from Netherlands’ rockabilly outfit Miss Mary Ann & the Ragtime Wranglers. With this brand new single being a strictly limited edition (500 copies) pressed on 45” vinyl with a pastel green finish and launched in conjunction with the band’s appearance at this year’s Rockabilly Rave, the double header featuring ‘Lover Please’ and ‘Beau From Tupelo’ are timely reminders of the capabilities of this rockin’ four piece. With ‘Beau From Tupelo’ selected as the first choice for consideration here, and purely out of curiosity for its given title, the decision pays off immediately. From its bright, snappy opening that remains intact throughout where the upright bass makes its presence known with a solid beat and the lead guitar weaves a spell through the eye of a needle such is its precision, it’s a song of wonder from start to finish that can best be described as a “stroller” with a beating heart such is its admiration for the ‘beau’ in question. The flipside (or main offering) ‘Lover Please’ is an altogether different beast and shows the inventiveness of this band where standing still is not an option. Such is the experience of Miss Mary Ann & the Ragtime Wranglers that merely churning out another similar sounding number is all too easy that’s why ‘Lover Please’ inspires the mind with it’s clever infusion of Cajun spices crossed with rock ‘n’ roll yet never straying from a midtempo rhythm that cleverly enhances the expressed sigh of its lyrical content of unrequited love. Truly a top-class double effort that is deserved of its ‘special’ release status and limited run.

What begins in charming fashion where blues was raw and rickety with plenty of  evidence supplied by the ilk of Robert Johnson (‘Preaching Blues’), Charley Booker (‘Charley’s Boogie Woogie’) and a truly acidic turn from Boyd Gilmore (‘All In My Dreams’), the change in style(s) soon gathers pace where the songs begin to add a few more layers and a touch of polish. With ‘Southern Bred Vol. 2 – Mississippi R& B Rockers’ this is exactly what the listener can expect once the aforementioned Robert Johnson opens this particular account and followed by a few musicians offering their take on an early blues sound, before the musical adventure begins to develop more of a rhythm and blues theme that takes in a variety of artists who compel the senses in their own unique ways. For example, one moment BB King is in thrilling mood with his exhilarating ‘BB’s Boogie’ and the next the lesser known (to these ears anyway) Cleo Brown provides a female interpretation via the neat and tidy shuffle, not to mention sophisticated, ‘(Lookie Lookie Lookie) Here Comes Cookie’. That said, there are plenty of well-known names littered throughout this excellent compilation with the likes of Bo Didley appearing with ‘Sixteen Tons’ and a clear candidate for influencing The Rolling Stones, and Eddie Clearwater providing a fuller and rockin’ performance with ‘Hey Bernardine’. The primitive blues sound never strays completely as Big Joe Williams and His 9 String Guitar demonstrate with the basic nuts and bolts of ‘Juanita’. A thoroughly engaging compilation that briefly traces examples of early blues before opening up to a more developed sound consisting of rhythm and blues, ‘Southern Bred Vol. 2 – Mississippi R& B Rockers’ is a good introduction to a vast scene of artists who left their marks through time and will lead to further investigation once these particular songs get under your skin.

Welcome to the wonderful world of snap, crackle and pop! Such is the introduction to the first volume in the ‘Southern Bred’ series where blues and rhythm and blues from a distant past is given a fresh airing in the present via Koko Mojo. With this initial volume offering an insight into the workings of a small handful of artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Elmore James, Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup et al, it is Willie Love and His Three Aces who receive the honour of opening this particular account and, in the process, provide a piano lesson that sounds somewhat ghostly given the age of this series via ‘My Own Boogie’. In fact, the passion for Willie Love continues as he makes an appearance during Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘Stop Now Baby’ and then showing up again at various points with, for example, His Three Aces and the cryptic title of ‘Feed My Body To The Fishes’ that sounds like redemption to these ears. Big Joe Williams ‘She Left Me A Mule’ is a compelling listen with its simplicity of sound and down on its luck tale. Such thoughts also apply to Elmore James with Sonny Boy Williamson where the combined use of slide guitar and harmonica have no problems coming up with the required ‘Dust My Broom’. By focusing on a select group of artists provides a different angle to previous compilations released by this record label where volume one in this series focuses strongly on an early blues sound that will have you hooked from start to finish.

Arriving only recently at FLW is the already available ‘Movin’ by Shaun Young and The 3 Ringers and The Texas Blue Dots. Issued on both CD and 12” vinyl, ‘Movin’ is a collection of songs split between the two guises of The 3 Ringers and The Texas Blue Dots, but with most songs going to The 3 Ringers. With the album being recorded and produced by Shaun Young at Jet-Tone Studios, Austin, Texas – “The Speed of Sound”, the quality really shines throughout this release. From rockabilly influenced numbers ‘Things Will Never Be The Same’, to an amalgamation of said genre with a strong hint of blues powering ‘When You Do That’, and then rounding off with the rock ‘n’ roll ‘Knockout’, Shaun Young with his cohorts is never one to sit still for a moment. Such a notion can be gleaned from the modern touches applied to this album, despite the album retaining a definite authentic feel overall, because ‘Movin’ never gives the impression of holding a desire to go back to the 50s as it’s a record that sounds perfectly at home in the present. With song titles and lyrics suggesting much heartache and longing for better times (‘Things Will Never Be The Same’, ‘Drink Till I Can’t Feel The Pain’, ‘My Heartaches Been Confirmed’, etc) Shaun Young (and bands) has/have a real way of convincing its audience via such tearjerkers as ‘I Plead The 5th’, to the more hopeful ‘More Than Any Tongue Can Tell’ with its mashup intro of Tom Petty meets Buddy Holly’s ‘Peggy Sue’. The contents of ‘Movin’ are a delight to behold and provide enough evidence that rockabilly is alive and well in Austin, Texas.

Described as an “experimental sound artist” is offthesky (all lowercase). Such a label is a fitting description once the contents of latest album ‘Illuminate’ begins to unravel its tapestry of piano, synths, percussion, cello, oboe, viola, violin, sax and pretty much the whole kitchen sink (!), where it soon becomes apparent that much thought and attention to detail has been considered. This becomes clearer once the background details of current album ‘Illuminate’ reveal that it began its inception during autumn 2017 and was spread out in terms of its recordings with stints in Denver and Kentucky and the European destinations of Latvia and Poland. It wasn’t until two years later that the recording of ‘Illuminate’ was completed. With offthesky presented as the solo work of Michael Jason Corder, the new album includes a variety of musicians who offer their skills. As often with Eilean Records, the music is often a purely instrumental affair, but every now and again you will hear the faintest of vocals, something of which is utilised during ‘Illuminate’. As mentioned already, the sounds are often experimental and lean towards ethereal sounding compositions (‘Eyes Like Isles’) or moody reflective numbers such as ‘Future Fire’, held together by a compelling saxophone. There is often the suggestion of late-night wonders under moonlit skies (depending on your interpretation of course) via dreamy ‘Neon Aeon’ and more tense ‘Monomystic’ with its shades of folk music. Having released a mammoth number of albums, latest addition ‘Illuminate’ is another strong and moving record to add to the catalogue of offthesky.

It’s good to be out of the comfort zone occasionally, and that’s exactly where ‘From The Void’ places the listener. A truly gritty and on the edge debut album from Finnish modern metal band Chronoform, ‘From The Void’ fills in the spaces with combined influences of traditional and modern elements of the metal genre. With this being the band’s debut LP, Chronoform make a dramatic entrance from the start via the bone crushing assault that is ‘Conquer’, which pummels the senses in a combined assault of throaty vocals (Niko-Petteri Westerholm), frenetic drumming (Vänni Panula) and dexterous guitars (Aapo Hakamaa and Eero Mäkiranta) that give the impression of providing a route away from the considerable “threat” at the centre of this track. The accompanying video referencing George Orwell’s 1984 and other similar works such as V for Vendetta, expands ‘Conquer’ further by adding a finale that floats on a beautiful segment of piano and one that is bathed visually in red smoke and a reminder of what the future may hold. Unfortunately, the distraction is temporary as the rest of the contents of ‘From The Void’ reveals. Just as ‘Conquer’ made a dramatic entrance, ditto ‘Sight of Eternity’ that continues the previous song’s theme yet really highlights those expansive elements of Chronofrom’s sound where the shift in gears is evident from the vocals to the riffs coming thick and fast, but then opening up a surprise package midway through with airy electronica. It’s utterly compelling from start to finish and a sign of major talent at work. From such details, ‘Purist’ offers further experimentation with subtle use of keys and the ‘noise’ turned down slightly, yet never loses its raw edge. Elsewhere, ‘Dusk’ highlights once more Chronoform’s skilled craftmanship as they generate a bile-induced racket that is the sound of a band turning itself inside out whilst drilling its message deep inside the listener’s cranium. The closing ‘Subatomic’ expands on its predecessor by adding traditional elements of metal via its guitars with the modern touches, but it is these newer ingredients that standout here because it’s the sign of band looking to the future in terms of direction. Despite the lengthy gestation it has taken ‘From The Void’ to finally raise its head, the wait has been truly worthwhile because Chronoform has delivered a debut record of high quality, and one that reveals genuine sparks of imagination that rub shoulder to shoulder with the modern and traditional forms of the metal genre as it bleeds from the top down in a compelling noise and revealing a real tour de force at work.