Glenn Jones invites you to sit by the fireplace with him and talk about his experiences. Intimate acoustic guitar work.

Good old country, but with lyrics that express ‘love’, ‘the things that went wrong’ and ‘personal experiences’ in a very original way.

This album, filled with blues, a little bluegrass and some folk, gives Daniel Kushnir a ticket to the world of the acoustic blues.

There is something for every blues lover. There is a choice of Country Blues, Swing Blues, Acoustic Blues or Heavy Blues tunes. 
Diversity celebrates again like every year!

The ultra strong songs of Steve Dawson show similarities with the work of Ry Cooder. A top roots album!

Scardanelli packed his cynical energetic lyrics in beautiful Americana songs. To discover!

If you collect everything of David Bowie, don’t forget this cover-version of Sendelica and Marc Swordfish. It’s really a nice piece of work!

Sam Alone? Sounds like a mix between Sam Sparro and Tom Malone (the trombone and tenor saxophone player of The Blues Brothers). The biggest musical and vocal line that can be drawn is one that leads to Bruce Springsteen. Even the album’s title, ‘Tougher Than Leather’, reminds me of The Boss’ ‘Tougher Than The Rest’. Let it be known that Bruce Springsteen is my biggest hero in music, so I will and shall have to be sceptic. But even a poor man’s Springsteen can be interesting, and I say that without any disrespect. Free your mind, open your ears. That’s how Keys and Chords rolls. Excellent band name, too, ‘The Gravediggers’.
‘Gardens of Death’ is an immediate highlight. Rousing, rocking, rolling, infectious rhythms. Well done, lads! ‘Coffins and Dog Tags’ is Foo Fighters-esque (with powerful Dave Grohl-inspired vocals), but the song title brings Stan Ridgway’s ‘Camouflage’ to mind. ‘Shine’ has a lovely melody and refrain, and is one of the best tracks on the album. The guitar strumming in ‘God’s Not Around’ is reminiscent of Fleet Foxes/Mumford And Sons, but Alone makes the song his own. ‘Gifted’ may be the best way to describe Sam Alone. He’s clearly gifted. Good stuff. I was quite surprised to find out the origins of the band: Portugal, no less. Their English is perfect.

Tijs Delbeke is a musical prodigy. A boy wonder, or rather, a man wonder. And a nightman, apparently. He can do no wrong, and he can do it all. His lyrics are almost second to none in the Belgian music industry. Take ‘I Messed Up (FOR YOU)’. Any other songwriter would say: ‘I messed up, and I’m sorry’. But not Delbeke. He knows where and when he went off track, and he’s not afraid to face the consequences. After all, he did it for her. No regrets. Second example: ‘Always (Except For Sometimes)’, a linguistic impossibility reminiscent of ‘everything and more’ or ‘to infinity and beyond’. The guitars in ‘Try To Hurt You’ evoke R.E.M. in their best days, while the distorted singing voice reminded me of White Town’s ‘Your Woman’. To top it off, the whole song is dipped into a Fastball sauce. With fantastic results, for it’s one of the album’s best songs. ‘Nice & Clean’ on the other hand is pure The Jam. Paul Weller would approve. And just when the fun seems to take the upper hand, Delbeke offers a touching, introspective and highly personal ballad with ‘Hope = Close To Fear’. You’ve done grand, lad.

Mark Pontin Group surpised us again with a diversiteit of great tunes and music!

Profound lyrics packed in lovely folk and Americana melodies.

Janiva Magness was already a big lady in this bluescirqui. She confirmed again with her new album ‘Love Wins Again’!

Jacob Metcalf is a noble unknown. My faulty musical knowledge is to blame, no doubt. At first hearing, he appears to be a student of the singer-songwriter class that includes Matt Watts, Mark Bates, and many others. When he’s reaching for the high notes, he sometimes resembles Jeff Buckley or Espen Lind. Other times, the music takes over. ‘Fjord’ features 11 intimate ditties. This is no stadium rock, this is meant to be played and heard in dank taverns with lots of cigarette smoke (then again, which tavern allows smoking nowadays?). ‘Sarah Sells Shoes’ has a nice thumping rhythm track. From the tangy guitar plucking in ‘Traffic’, via the gorgeously melancholic ‘Winter in Wichita’ (the title alone evokes old-timey vintage cosiness and a Christmas’ spirit) to the introspective ‘Correspondence’ (which begins with 20 seconds of silence; intentional or a mistake in the cd pressing?), Jacob Metcalf came, saw and wrote a song about it. One of the songs is called ‘Just A Job’, but Metcalf takes his job very seriously. Recommended.

Hooverphonic’s Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts have found quite the unique way to present their ten new songs. Five A-sides featuring five guest vocalists, and five B-sides with the same personnel. Everyone gets two songs, so no sad faces and no lack of attention.
‘I Like The Way I Dance’ is remarkable. Oftentimes, an artist will sing something along the lines of ‘I like the way YOU dance’. But not Hooverphonic. The main character is self-congratulatory. And why not. 
Alex Callier is very proud of ‘Badaboum’, the first single, but I think it’s the weakest track on the album. I can’t put my finger on it, but the song irritates me. Callier won’t care, though. On the contrary, ‘Badaboum’ is their first chartbuster in France since 2000. No more one hit wonder over there, then. Definite cause for celebration. The B-side to ‘Badaboum’, ‘Cocaine Kids’, is brilliant, including a funny fake disclaimer at the end (‘So why not sit back and relax and have a nice cup of tea and biscuits …’).
If you have money to blow, opt for the ‘In Wonderland’ box set, which includes five 7” singles, each with their own lovely artwork and colour scheme. It’s the pick of the vinyl litter.
You won’t find a new ‘Vinegar & Salt’ on ‘In Wonderland’, but it’s quite hard to write the best Belgian song of all time twice. Hooverphonic have long secured their musical immortality.

This CD is influenced by nature, the landscape and the weather. Making music is simply dreaming out loud says the artist. ​

The band Giant Tiger Hooch allows fresh air into the Dutch
music landscape. Hopefully we will see this band back on our innumerable summer festivals!

Claudio Cataldi’s appearance on Fruits De Mer Records is once again a ‘coup de force’. Intelligent re-make of a Lou Reed-song and a few fine songs of his back-catalogue stimulates my appetite.

The contemporary harp players are represented on this tribute to their mentor Big Walter!