Back with a fresh single, after last year’s album ‘Trouble Train’, Løiten Twang Depot set their sights on making a further splash in 2016. With the band having spent a busy time in the recording studio of late, the first sign of this period is ‘Music City Heroes’. Instantaneous in its appeal due to its upbeat rhythm that will lift those cowboy boots from the floor, Løiten Twang Depot pick up from where they left before with ‘Music City Heroes, only this time the band sound even more assured judging by the quality of this latest single. With references to Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in check and lead vocalist Bjørn Flaaseth sounding more and more as if he was born out on the southern range of the States, Løiten Twang Depot is as close to an authentic American (outlaw) country sound one can get this side of Europe via ‘Music City Heroes’.

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.

Falling off the rear end of the passing jalopy this morning, and landing right on the doorstep of Famous Last Words (FLW), is the current album from the Doel Brothers with ‘Travellin’ Heavy with the Doel Brothers’. Brewed in the backwoods of Hampshire, the trio of brothers – Tom (drums), Gordon (vocals/guitar) and David (vocals/guitar) – are joined once more by Steve Whitworth on double bass, and Phil Morgan handling the steel guitar, in order to bring to life their second full-length album. What the listener gets here are twelve originals penned by the Doel Brothers that sound as if they have come from the hillbilly settlements of old, and one that is not afraid to shake things up with added western swing and rockabilly. As ‘Wild Wild Woman’ kicks things off with a definite sense of the ‘wild’ about it, due to a driving rhythm and the Doel Brothers full of holler during this rockabilly number. ‘Trouble’ is an intimate tale that is blues in nature and one that is compellingly told by Gordon Doel, and features some serious guitar playing that keeps this engine finely tuned. The filling wedged at the centre of this second long player from the Doel Brothers maintains the consistency and high quality with a succession of songs packed full of intricate details via some wonderful guitar pickin’, with added steel guitar that trips between ‘Does It Feel Good’, ‘You Ain’t A Woman’, ‘Side Step Round The Blues’ and ‘What Ya Wanna Do That For’. If that wasn’t enough excitement, then the truly in hicksville delivery of ‘Oh Boy’ (No, not that one!) turns up the heat somewhat with its references to honky tonk, which leaves the Doel Brothers in fine spirits and making ‘Travellin’ Heavy With The Doel Brothers’ a ride well worth taking.

The singer-songwriter Marte Wulff has experienced a very interesting career to date having been living and working overseas and now firmly back in her native Norway. In addition, Wulff possess an impressive back catalogue consisting of four albums which can be divided equally in terms of their choice of language used, with two of her albums having been performed in English, and the other two in her local dialect. Also, recognition of Wulff’s song writing abilities extends to film and television where a variety of her songs have been used, as well as being on the receiving end of much radio play. The next part of this musical journey is the brand new single ‘Si Det Sånn’ that sees Wulff revert back to Norwegian and probably due to her move back home as well. The single itself is a tender folk song that focuses on human vulnerability, and delivered in compelling fashion by Wulff’s natural sounding vocal and expert guitar playing from Fay Wilhagen. With the new album not due until April this year, ‘Si Det Sånn’ is a fine beginning and one likely to be placed on high rotation until the full album arrives.

The return of Margaret Berger with the single ‘Apologize’ has been a long time coming after the victory at the Norwegian MGP and consecutive participation at the Eurovision. Add to that list working as a music panellist for television, and cooperation with underground pop trio F A.C.E, and then Margaret Berger’s absence from the music scene gains more explanation. With her own record label in place (Berger / Phonofile), and a collaborative partnership with Adriane Leinsworth and Anders Kjær, the latter of whom produced ‘Apologize’, Berger has lost none of her desire to succeed in a competitive pop environment, but it seems to have come at a personal cost judging by the sentiments expressed throughout this comeback single. Closer examination shows that ‘Apologize’ runs to a slow, moody electronic tempo, and presents an emotionally naked Berger who is not afraid to recognise her own faults as well as addressing the other reasons for the breakdown in question. It’s a rousing comeback in more ways than one from this Norwegian artist, and one not likely to be repeated in terms of the lyrics considering their open nature. The next step in Margaret Berger’s career is definitely one to keep an eye on.

With the formation of this group going as far back as 2010, Beesus, consisting of band members Touis (vocals), Pootchie (guitar), Mutt (bass) and Mudd (drums), held dreams of performing their take on alternative-metal and fuzz rock which inspired them greatly from The Melvins through to Mudhoney. Fast-forward and those early visions have now become a reality, as this Italian four piece is ready with a debut album in hand, which is currently being promoted throughout Europe with a number of live dates. To summarise, ‘The Rise of Beesus’ is described adequately by the band’s vocalist Touis who says, “The name Beesus is a depiction of the human will to create and destroy…” which certainly transmits to the band’s overall sound where songs build themselves up, only to come tumbling back down in a barrage of noise. The title track certainly prescribes to such a theory by steadily opening out, guitars straining, and then followed by a sludge-infested beat that gathers momentum nearing its chaotic end. From such a fine start, Beesus show that they have more than one trick in their musical closet by way of ‘6ft Under Box’ with its mesmerising sonic offshoots and the light waltz of its guitars that eventually run out room due to crashing into to the appropriately named ‘Stonerslam’. With Beesus having recorded this album live at Wolf Recording Studio, the signs are certainly audible during the slower pace of ‘Kusa’ where improvisation has been used in the vocals, and likewise the shift in gear of the instruments during ‘Sonic Doom / Stoner Youth’. ‘The Rise of Beesus’ is a clear indication of a long-held vision that has finally come to life in a mass of drawn out noise full of stoner rock and sludge metal riffs, but one that is willing to experiment with different methods in order to get there. It looks like Beesus has all of the components in place to take this one step further when the next album is ready for production.