Feeling a need to ease the blues in your life? Then follow the simple instructions from doo-wop outfit Lil’ Mo and the Dynaflos and their latest album ‘Get Up And Dance!’ and you’ll soon feel rejuvenated. The energy emanating from this six-piece band is contagious and will have your limbs shaking from the off via the album’s title track, that speeds along at some pace and finds lead singer Lil’ Mo in determined mood to get the audience up off of their feet. The persuasive power of the music continues to weave its magic and really given some clout with the bullish ‘Hands Off’ and passionate ‘Spellbound’ where the emotions are close to frothing over judging by the reactions of Lil’ Mo and his supporting vocalists. With the album ‘Get Up And Dance!’ having been set up and recorded at Wally Hersoms’ studio in Pasadena, such a decision no doubt helped shape and fuel the creativity of the original compositions on offer, not to mention the selected cover versions because there is no real let up in the overall energy expressed during this album where the vocals can direct the songs emotions and just as equally the instrumentation of say ‘Shut That Door’, ‘Bop Shake Boogie’ or ‘Have Love Will Travel’. Resistance is futile, so ‘Get Up And Dance!’

Two years have elapsed since The Northern Lies critically acclaimed debut album ‘Midnight Medicine’ was released. During their absence, the band has evolved into a five piece which, along with original members Henry Johnsen and Håvard Stangnes, now consists of Ida Karoline Nordgård (bass/vocals), Erik Nilsson (keys) and Mikael Pedersen (drums/vocals). With the revised line-up in place, The Northern Lies set the task of writing and recording that ‘difficult’ second album. What transpires since that two-year layoff is ‘White Desert Blues’, which reveals a succession of songs that delve even deeper than its predecessor in an attempt to get to the bottom of the sadness that is causing so many restless nights. With various trials and tribulations providing the fuel for the lyrics, it is the natural elements and scenic landscapes of rugged mountainous ranges of the northern hemisphere, Tromsø (Norway) to be exact, combined with The Northern Lies authentic Americana sound that adds to expressions of loneliness and isolation felt during ‘White Desert Blues’. Evidence of such emotions and cold-isolated conditions can be ascertained from the album’s title track that is nostalgic just as it is confused and lost, which also stumbles accordingly in to the following ‘Wrong Turn’. If the sounds of Neil Young and Crazy Horse greatly appeal, and a vocal that is close to Townes Van Zandt on occasions (‘Too Damn Quiet’), then you have come to the right place as far as The Northern Lies is concerned. Just remember, however, where this band resides because it is a sound that they do well and will leave you yearning for more once the likes of ‘Love’s Lonely Rover’ and ‘Cold-Hearted Town’ touch your heart. It looks like Americana has firmly planted its roots in a far corner north of Norway where the ‘White Desert Blues’ exist and can be heard via The Northern Lies.

After picking up a gong of sorts last year with their debut album earning a respectable position in the FLW Top 50 Records of 2015, those wild and weird misfits from planet Jupiter, the Harvey Steel show, reappear with the first seed of new material by way of the single, ‘Shaky Hand Modifier’. The noticeable difference compared to what went before sees the band’s sound reined in tighter with shorter, sharper bursts of a combined recipe involving blues, jazz and indie, but with less noodling as far as the psychedelia goes. That said, ‘Shaky Hand Modifier’ will delight those who’ve pledged their allegiance to this intergalactic band of musicians with a gritty, bluesy guitar forging a path from start to finish, and ably supported in the rear by a single trumpet and Kristine Marie Aasvang’s vocal strongly relaying the contents here with ship captain, Thomas Bergsten, adding the impish persona via the backing vocals .The devil is definitely sitting on the shoulder of this song, but rather than causing absolute mayhem serves as a motivational force keeping the Harvey Steel show on their toes in their attempts to ward off the shaky hand in question. If ‘Shaky Hand Modifier’ is the sign of what’s to come, then please sir, more of this edgy paranoia because it might just lead the Harvey Steel show to absolute greatness.

Taken from her current album ‘When My Man Comes To Town’ that is picking up glowing plaudits from various critics including this very music publication, Hege makes the decision to issue ‘Lay Your Burden Down’ to offer another example of what all the fuss is about. With ‘Lay Your Burden Down’ containing a far chipper rhythm compared to a few of the other offerings from her latest album, the lyrics provide a shoulder to cry on, with religion playing its part here, and the band offering a welcoming sound with its references to western swing and gospel and, most notably, the steel strings, fiddle and Hege’s subtle tinges of Dolly Parton held in her vocal. There’s no other place to ease your worries right now than Hege and her new single, ‘Lay Your Burden Down’, because you will leave feeling enriched by the end of this experience.

Picking up comparisons with the likes of Jeff Buckley, Paul Simon and Ray LaMontagne is the new album ‘Breathing In’ from singer-songwriter Dan Lipton. With a sound that fuses the traditional sound of Americana with story-based blues, in addition with Appalachian country and world music, Dan Lipton displays such influences throughout his current album comprising of twelve self-penned songs. The album ‘Breathing In’ was a lengthy process, having utilised a number of empty cabins from Maine to Virginia to seek the right atmosphere for each, and every track in terms of their recordings. What Lipton ended up with is a close intimacy that can be heard in such songs as the tender and sore ache of ‘Dark Water’, and softer pop tones of equally good ‘Come On Georgia’. There is great care taken with all the contents of ‘Breathing In’, which is echoed in the quality of the recorded works where songs can sound bright and colourful by way of its title track and near jaunty rhythm of ‘MTA’. For those seeking that singular moment with the songwriter, then the wistful ‘Wings Of A Crow’ is a fine place to start, with Lipton in fine vocal and occasionally supported by a faint yet soothing backing vocal. It’s Lipton’s song writing qualities that really impress throughout with his ability to name a song ‘End Of The World’ yet give it an upbeat feel, as well as transform the lonely isolation of ‘Television’ in to something warm and engaging via its country roots. A master in his own field, Dan Lipton has just delivered an album of supreme quality, and one that is definitely worth ‘Breathing In’.

Back with a third album is Hege (Brynildsen) with, ‘When My Man Comes To Town’. This latest release follows after the audacious experiment that was ‘Till Harry’, which made use of the Swedish language to fill its songs, only it managed to exclude a number of would-be supporters due to its language restrictions as the album presented an engaging listen, and one that served as a supportive companion during the wee small hours. Despite this obvious disadvantage, Norwegian singer-songwriter Hege reverts to English in order to deliver ten new songs drenched in an authentic traditional country sound. With production duties being entrusted to Gøran Grini (Paal Flata, Chip Taylor, Tommy Tokyo) once more, and with the tried and tested musicianship of Omar Østli (guitar), Finn Tore Tokle (bass), Tor Hauge (drums) Lars Ivar Borg and Kristin Solli (choir), in addition to American multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin weighing in with a number of instruments, Hege remains as thorough as ever in terms of her preparation for ‘When My Man Comes To Town’. The evidence of this comprehensive approach is instantaneous as the album’s title track quietly saunters into town on the back of a spidery sounding organ, a restrained twang of the guitar, Hege delivering a poignant vocal that really adds to the emptiness felt, and where Halden is transformed into a desolate outback somewhere in the Wild West. From this remarkable start, the rest of ‘When My Man Comes To Town’ feeds on this loneliness and despair with ‘Oh Loneliness’ standing out as a prime candidate, and former single, ‘If You Have To Cry’, being another song where its desperation alludes to some form of wrongdoing without giving much away.  Elsewhere, any form of hopelessness reveals itself in heartbreak of the relationship kind, especially during the tender ballad ‘Lovely Charming Ways’ with Hege sounding full of regret and not too distant from a younger Dolly Parton , “I should have listened to my friends when they warned me, Not to fall for your lovely charming ways”. With songs aching with much sadness, and the instrumentation doing its upmost to keep up with these melancholic feelings (‘Please Remember Me’ is a perfect example), Hege marks this latest chapter in her recording career as one that will see her song writing gain new levels of respect because ‘When My Man Comes To Town’ is a truly wonderful achievement.